


The Bucket List

by hunnyfresh



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Humor, Road Trips, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-06
Updated: 2016-03-01
Packaged: 2018-04-25 04:06:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 75,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4946077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hunnyfresh/pseuds/hunnyfresh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Regina Mills is in the midst of a midlife crisis where she finds herself doing the same things every day. After creating a bucket list, her best friend of twenty years, Emma Swan, seeks to help her complete the list, though they both cross off more than they expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time of any recognizable characters.
> 
> AN: I'm back! I know it's been months of silence from me, but I'm in a better place now, which is probably why this particular story is kinda a fluff-fest. Coincidentally enough, most of the prompts for SQWeek2015 hit up a few things I had planned for this story, so consider it my contribution to the fandom :) It's completely AU and sees Storybrooke as a tiny New England town. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Regina Mills was a creature of habit. For the past ten years, Regina had done, more or less, the same thing every day. Every weekday she would wake at exactly 6 AM, make her bed, and hang her robe on the washroom towel rack before stepping into a hot shower. Her make-up came next: carefully applied foundation, light blush, dark eyeliner, and deep red lipstick. Her long eyelashes were passed down from her father, and Regina was grateful she didn't have to add mascara to the list because that would have taken up a precious thirty seconds of work. Her outfit, laid out from the night before, was the next order of business. Usually Regina would don a simple blouse and skirt combination, but during the winter months in Maine, she gravitated toward the tailored suits. Whenever she was meeting with prospective clients, however, out came the dresses that made her opponents crumble at the seams. Breakfast came, with a quick egg white and spinach frittata, and off she was to work, driving herself to Augusta just outside their small hamlet of Storybrooke, Maine, where she boarded a train to take her to work where she spent eight hours in the legal department finding and creating loopholes in contracts so that the shareholder company she worked for got the maximum profit for the least amount of payout. She wasn't a defense attorney business or a private practice, which Regina's mother still frowned upon even from the grave, but Regina was content to be using her law degree at all. She was good at her job and she was able to work normal hours. The time she spent researching cases and studying for her bar exam had taken a toll on her, and though she had no desire to step into a courtroom anymore, the business life afforded her time and flexibility.

Time she didn't know what to do with.

Her nights were spent, more often than not having dinner with her best friend of twenty years. Emma Swan, a complete opposite to Regina's own personality, hated the mundane lifestyle. Working at a temp agency, she jumped from job to job faster than Regina could keep track. It was as fleeting as her love life, if Regina was being honest, but Emma had fun with the men and women she saw for the night. She was going to be an artist someday, Emma always promised, and these jobs were just temporary until her big break came. Regina would often find the blonde staring intently at her and not be surprised when Emma would pull out a scrap of paper or rip out a page from a well-used sketchbook and begin drawing whatever of Regina's features that had caught her eye. They'd watch TV or a movie, and depending on the hour, her friend would stay the night, delegated to the spare bedroom that had unofficial become Emma's or even fall asleep in Regina's bed because the blonde didn't want to be alone downstairs, watching Netflix as Regina read.

It was familiar and normal and good, and it was slowly driving Regina mad.

She said as much in her therapy session with Dr. Archie Hopper that night. She had a routine and she did it well, taking perfectionism to a whole new extreme that some had even wondered if she legitimately had OCD. She didn't. She was tested. Her therapist said she had a need for control, bred from a mother who had her hands in nearly everything in Regina's life. She was just particular, though Emma liked to call it anal-retentive. She wasn't anal. What would get done if it wasn't done efficiently and effectively? Nothing. Not without a little order.

But a lot of order went a long way when Regina found herself with her chin on her fist at the kitchen island after arriving home to find Emma already in her kitchen, starting dinner like she did every time Regina had a therapy session with Dr. Hopper. She couldn't remember how they got into this habit, Emma simply knowing when Regina would meet with her therapist even when the sessions were unscheduled, but she appreciated the familiar face when she went home to an otherwise empty house.

"What's up, buttercup?"

Regina wrinkled her nose at the endearment. "I'm fine."

"Filthy lie." Emma flicked the pan, sautéing the veggies dramatically like she was on some televised cooking show. "Rough session or rough day?"

Regina bit her lip. "I called Albert Spencer a sexist pig."

The blonde barked in laughter, moving away from the stove unless she wanted to spray the vegetables with her happy tears. After a minute, she calmed enough to speak. "It's not like that's not true. Remember your work Christmas party last year?"

Any other time Regina would have shuddered at a very handsy Spencer, her boss not knowing the meaning of personal space, but she continued to stare blankly in thought. "He kept telling me how to do my job, as if I hadn't been doing it for the last ten years. Every half hour he'd stop by my desk just for an update, and by the afternoon I was throwing the file at his chest telling him to do it himself."

"You what?" Emma turned fully, a look of disbelief on her face.

Regina didn't answer her. Her face remained impassive before she shrugged slightly to herself. "It felt good. Yelling at him."

"That doesn't sound like you," Emma said thoughtfully before she snorted. "You should have kneed him right in the baby maker."

"I could lose my job for it."

"You're better than that job, pumpkin." The blonde smirked that she at least got an eye roll at that. "You're already a fancy lawyer. You could be cracking justice and putting the bad guys away if you wanted."

"You and I both know that the bad guys roam free so long as their lawyer weaves a good tale," Regina drawled. She shook her head and dropped her forehead into her hands. "I don't feel like myself. I should be kissing his ass and apologizing and bowing my little lady head down in shame."

Emma wiped her hands on the tea towel slung over the oven handle of the stove and moved to the fridge. She pulled out a bottle of wine and retrieved two glasses from the pantry, pouring Regina a healthy dose of red to complement the chicken that was baking in the oven. "But?"

"But nothing." Regina swirled the glass thoughtfully before taking a sip. Emma shrugged, knowing better than to press when Regina was stewing in her own mind and tended to the vegetables once more. She had just taken the skillet off the burner when Regina spoke again. "I think I'm depressed."

The blonde turned with a raised eyebrow. "That's a serious thought. Are you happy?"

"I—" Regina squinted. Happiness and contentment were two completely different things, and Dr. Hopper said as much when he brought it up in that evening's session. "It's difficult to find satisfying meaning in life anymore."

Emma nodded and turned off the oven, moving around the island and behind Regina to wrap her arms around her friend's shoulders from behind with an affectionate squeeze. "I'm sorry," she whispered kissing the top of Regina's head. "What can I do?"

Regina sighed and fell into the embrace. She wasn't entirely accurate in her assumption that nothing was enjoyable. These stolen moments with her best friend where they paused their bickering and choreographed routine of domesticity with one another was one of the only things she found comfort in.

For nearly twenty years, she and Emma had been thick as thieves having met in their sophomore year of high school when the blonde's place on the track team was hanging on the fate of passing her chemistry course. Regina had tutored her then, and the burgeoning friendship exploded rather than bloomed. They thought, perhaps, that with Regina's friendliness with the more popular groups like the cheerleading squad and the football team and Emma laying low with the artists on the drama club's production team that they wouldn't have kept in touch, but for whatever reason, Emma would wave to Regina in the caf, sometimes the two sitting with one another, or Regina would drop Emma home after school where they would spend another hour just sitting in her car and chatting.

Regina was precise, organized, and planned, while Emma was the exact opposite. The balance they gave one another had lasted them twenty long years of ex-friends, parental deaths on both sides, and existential crisis on Emma's part when she had gotten rejected from her dream art school, but it was worth it for the long run as Regina sighed heavily into her friend and shrugged. "I feel like I shouldn't feel this way. I'm currently employed with a good company—"

"If you count Spencer being a sexist asshat, and the fact that your company seeks out to protect its executive clients."

"—I've been providing for myself for years. I'm independent and well-off. I feel like I've mastered this stage in my life, and what's next?"

"How about a spa day?" Emma asked hopefully, releasing her with a squeeze.

"I don't think this is something a mani-pedi will fix."

The blonde returned to the oven to retrieve the chicken before it burned. Plating both the chicken and the vegetables, Emma moved with a wicked grin to the freezer and pulled out the bottle of vodka she kept there. "Maybe not but I know alcohol will help."

* * *

Regina rarely ate away from the dining room table or the breakfast bar. It was only when she was sick, and even then that was a rare occasion, or Emma had begged and pleaded and put on her puppy dog eyes that they got to eat on her couch in the living room, in front of the widescreen TV. Both knew that TV was there for Emma's use since half of the blonde's DVDs were neatly organized in the shelf beside it, and that the Playstation console was untouched by Regina. Mostly. But here they were, empty dinner plates stacked on the coffee table, wine bottle depleted on the floor beside them, and a jug of orange juice that was once half full and a third of the vodka gone on the side table beside Emma.

It was somewhere between their second or third screwdriver that they had shut off the TV and started reminiscing about the good ol' days, as if they didn't have favourite stories of their years growing up or that they hadn't been consistently in each other's lives since they were sixteen. But Regina, red cheeks and a thin layer of sweat cooling her brow, had her head on Emma's shoulder, unsuccessfully stifling a giggle. "Remember our prom photos?"

Emma nodded with a snort, finishing off her drink. "Your mom was so mad that I had chucks under my dress."

"She was already mad I agreed to go with you." The brunette sat up stiffly in her best Cora impression. " _Leopold is a nice young man, Regina_."

"Yeah, already touching thirty and going to a high school prom."

"He was my mother's intern on the council, and she felt better knowing we had a male escort."

"If we wanted a male escort, I would have picked up some guy at a strip joint."

Regina hummed contently. "I had fun that night."

"I was a good date, huh?"

"My mother had one rule, and that was to get me back before curfew, and you couldn't even follow it." Regina reminded with a playful nudge.

They erupted into a fit of laughter, remembering Cora's face when Emma had dropped Regina home in her beat up hand-me-down Ford truck at seven in the morning. The bottom of Regina's princess gown had been caked with mud and leaves and torn in places from where they spent all night out by Firefly Hill, whispering about what college life was going to be like and where they would go from there. No matter how loud Cora had yelled at her that day, it had all been worth it for a spectacular prom.

Their laughter died down until Regina was just simply resting on Emma's shoulder once more in her alcohol-induced state. Finally she pulled back, trying to reach over Emma to refill her glass, but the blonde gently took the tumbler from her and set it aside. "You've got work in the morning."

"Debatable. I bet Spencer is going to HR to get me fired," she pouted. "And so do you."

"Yeah, but you have adult people work," the blonde reminded, stretching herself along the couch that her legs rested on Regina's lap. "I'm just a lowly, replaceable temp picking up phones and booking board rooms at an ad agency."

"What about your comic?" Regina inquired. The blonde shrugged. "You used to draw more when we were younger."

Emma's eyes flashed and she smiled sadly. "That was when I was gonna be a hotshot artist."

"You still could." Regina reared back and leaned against the opposite arm, her legs tangled with Emma's. "I used to be more fun when we were younger."

"You're still fun," the blonde nudged her thigh with a foot. "Remember the Regina Mills that got invited to every frat party?"

Regina hummed in acknowledgement, mentally snorting at Emma's insistent statement. She had stopped becoming fun a long time ago, but she couldn't quite pinpoint when adulthood had fully taken over. Her college years with Emma were met with trips to the bar whenever they were in the same town since Regina had gone to a state school. She even spent a lot of time returning to Storybrooke for their Miner's Day celebration and any major holiday to spend it with the Swans after both Daddy and Mother passed in a car accident just after she finished her undergrad. But when was the last time she had done something just for the pleasure of doing it? Emma had tried to get her to go to the movies a few weeks back, but Regina had complained about a headache, and the two sat at home, watching Netflix until, well, Regina did like to be in bed by 10:30. Oh god, she was an old hag. No wonder her therapist had suggested what he did.

"Hey," Emma gently prodded with her foot once more. "Where'd you go there?"

"Dr. Hopper had me make a list."

"Like what makes you happy?"

"No." The brunette, through much effort, rolled off the couch and disappeared into the foyer. She was only gone for a moment before she returned with her purse, already rifling through its contents. "Of things I want to do."

"Like a bucket list."

"I suppose." Regina held it out for her to take before climbing back into the nest they created on the couch. "He wanted me to come up with ten things that I would find different yet enjoyable and that are achievable."

The blonde squinted, sitting up fully. "There's only nine."

"And I could barely think of nine."

The list was marked from ten to one in Regina's elegant handwriting. She had noticed her friend had been in a funk, seemingly going through the motions of everyday life, but Emma always attributed that to Regina's ambition. Work effectively to work harder. Emma herself had been in the temp game for the last five years despite her diploma in art and graphic design. Regina had always made a name for herself, whether it was at that god awful law company or winning points with Emma's mom. She swore her mom liked Regina better than Emma most times. But the list in front of her held the older woman's nearly immediate desires, and Emma tried, she really did, but she couldn't help but snort at the first two. "Number ten: be spontaneous. Number nine: be irresponsible. How are you gonna schedule that in between calling out jerks and hanging with me?"

Regina glared and snatched the paper back from Emma's grip. "If you're going to sit there and laugh at it—"

"Okay, okay," Emma held her hands up. "I'm sorry. Those are two very good things to hit on a bucket list."

Reluctantly Regina returned the paper.

"Number eight: learn a different language. That's pretty good. Learn to play guitar." Emma looked up thoughtfully. "We can go to the pawn shop this weekend. I thought I saw some nice acoustics there."

She looked back to the list and wrinkled her nose. "Number six: have a child?"

"What?" Regina questioned genuinely. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to raise a child."

"Yeah, but are you ready?"

"You don't think I'll be a good mother," the brunette deadpanned.

"Not at all," Emma reassured. "But I just don't think it's something you cross off like a grocery list."

Regina grumbled a response and reached for the wine bottle on the floor, making a show of pouring out the very last drop into her glass and finishing it off. The blonde reached over, squeezing the older woman's calf. "You'd be a great mom, you know that, right?"

When she was met with silence, Emma continued. "Road trip. All right. This one is totally doable. Where to?"

"I'd have to look up viable locations and what each city offers. Look up hotels, attractions, etcetera."

"Okay," the younger woman drawled. "That is the opposite of being spontaneous, but whatever. Number four: ride a horse again."

"You loved the ranch," Regina grinned, her tone light in sarcasm.

"Not my fault my hair looks like hay," Emma grumbled, fighting off a visible shiver. Her eyes scanned to the next items and green eyes widened with glee. "Woah, we got to the good stuff! Number three;  _skinny dip,_  and number two: have a  _one night stand_. There's the Regina Mills I know and love."

"Stop that." The brunette snatched the list away and tucked it to her chest. "I was having difficulty picking ten, and Dr. Hopper suggested something out of my comfort zone."

"Well are they things you would actually want to do?"

"I've only ever had one serious relationship," the brunette mused.

"Daniel." Emma nodded, remembering Regina's college boyfriend. Regina was certain she was going to marry him, but a job opportunity in London pulled him away, and Regina didn't follow. She couldn't leave behind what she knew for a life of uncertainty just for any person, even if she did love Daniel. Ever since then there had been dates for the brunette, but nothing that ever held her heart. "So you would seriously want to do this?"

Regina paused before slowly nodding her head in the affirmative.

Emma beamed. "Then I think that's very spontaneous of you. What are we doing this weekend? We can knock it off at the Rabbit Hole."

"God no," Regina said with disdain. "I am not sleeping with anyone we find in this town's one bar."

The blonde shrugged and nodded, even though she had had her own fair share of pickups at the Rabbit Hole. "What about number one?"

Regina shrugged, revealing the paper once more. At the bottom of the list in the number one spot was scratched out numerous times without a full sentence left in its place. "I initially had something generic, like falling in love, visiting the Eiffel Tower, or finally finishing Ulysses."

"But?"

"Let's be honest, I will not be finishing that book even when I had a grade riding on it." The blonde snorted as Regina continued. "And I didn't want to have my number one as something I could throw money at and a plane ticket would get me there."

"You can't really throw money on falling in love."

"Yes, but I can easily fall in love with a favourite pair of heels or even a TV show," reasoned Regina.

"Amen."

"I wanted my number one to be worthwhile."

Emma nodded thoughtfully as she let Regina's explanation sink in. "Something once in a lifetime."

"Exactly." Regina shrugged again and took back the list. "For all I know that could be just getting arrested."

"No," the blonde quickly dissuaded. "Do not get arrested. Seriously, it is so not good for you, especially that you're a fancy lawyer. It's not as fun as Litchfield makes it out to be. Just leave the delinquency up to me."

"You know it stops being delinquency when you turn 18?"

She rolled her eyes and patted Regina's leg twice before standing up, the brunette shifting to accommodate her. "Which one do you want to do first?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer in Chapter One
> 
> AN: Thanks so much for the great response! I'm really glad you're all enjoying it :)

The list had been a silly thing concocted by her therapist, but as Regina thought more and more about it, she realized she had picked fairly doable items. Outrageous, in some sense, thinking about the one night stand and the skinny dipping, but most people had done those before hitting their twenties. Her mother always called her a late bloomer, but her father said she was always perfect in his eyes. That didn't stop Cora from pushing the best out of her whether she was ready for it or not. Dr. Hopper pointed out deep-seeded anger between Regina and her late mother that manifested into perfectionism and order. Even from the grave Cora seemed to be dictating her life. With that thought, Regina rolled off her mattress, making a point  _not_  to make her bed, before firing up her laptop and searching language tapes.

Spanish was the one she ordered. Her mother had insisted on taking French in school and attempted to get her daughter into Latin, but the subjects never stuck. Spanish was the language of her father, second generation out of Cuba and still in touch with his roots. Regina remembered when she was little and he would sing Spanish lullabies to her and play games with her that he once played as a child. Cora put a stop to that when Regina overhead her parents arguing. Words like "improper" and "unnecessary" were thrown around, and it wasn't until Regina was older that she realized her father's heritage would not be passed on from father to daughter, not if Cora got her way.

But she was a grown woman now, and Regina was determined to learn. Perhaps she could even visit Cuba if she got good enough. She hadn't had a vacation in a while and the last one she went on was when she and Emma went to the Cayman Islands nearly ten years ago. Emma was the traveler between the two, and though Regina had the funds to do it, her time was focused on work. But she was determined to change now, and visiting Cuba could be a number one to grace her bucket list. Feeling more accomplished now than she had in the past few weeks, Regina had one more thing she wanted to cross off her list.

* * *

_Nineteen._ Emma grunted as she pulled herself up on her chin-up bar secured in the rafters of her loft. She exhaled slowly in her release before breathing in sharply once more as she did another rep.  _Twenty._  She may not have had the best track record for staying at a job but her discipline when it came to her early morning workout regime would make even Regina's morning ritual look like a spur of the moment decision. Emma was an early bird. There was something about the few hours before sun broke over the horizon that brought a sense of peace to her ever-changing lifestyle. She could jump from job to job and even warm a different person's bed three nights in a row (though the desire to do that was dwindling more and more with each passing day), but her mornings were her own. Whether she ran for miles through downtown or she did a circuit set in her apartment, Emma took the quiet hours of the morning to work on herself. Five years ago Emma had tried to get Regina up with her. 'We can be cute workout partners,' Emma had said with glee. But getting Regina up before her 6 AM alarm was damn near impossible, and more often than not, Emma would be waiting in the living room, doing some cardio in front of the TV as Regina groggily dragged herself out of bed. So this time was hers. She had already gone running along the pier, a brief stint of yoga in the park to stretch herself out, before she returned to her apartment to work on some fitness. She was about to pull herself up for her twenty-first rep until Regina came bursting through her front door, not batting an eye at Emma's state of undress—a sports bra and booty shoots being all she needed.

"I have a plan," Regina announced excitedly, staring up at Emma from below the chin-up bar. "Get dressed."

"It's seven in the morning on a Saturday," the blonde complained, hanging limply from the ceiling.

"And you smell," Regina pointed out smacking the blonde's abs. She grimaced when her hand came away slick with Emma's sweat. "By the time you get down and showered and have eaten it'll be nine. And you really need to shower."

She dropped to the ground with a hollow thud, stretching out her arms behind her head as she sniffed herself. "I smell fine."

"You smell like the sun and fish. It's not a pleasant combination." Her wry remark was cut off when Emma grinned mischievously and took a step forward. Regina's eyes widened knowingly. "Don't. Even. Think about it."

But the blonde just grinned, and though Regina had had to fight off Emma's post-workout hug in the past , no amount of preparation could match Emma's speed. She jumped suddenly and engulfed the brunette in a sweaty hug and squeezed tight, laughing as Regina tried to squirm out of her grip.

" _Emma!_ " The brunette shrieked. "I swear to God—"

Turning in her arms, Regina managed to push Emma away, only because the blonde released her, but she smirked nonetheless at her minor victory.

"Go get changed," Regina demanded pointing to her washroom door.

The mornings may have been Emma's time to herself and her body, she thought as she stripped on the way to the bathroom, but messing with Regina more than made up for the interruption.

* * *

True to word, the duo found themselves entering the local pawn shop right at nine. Regina had used the time Emma was in the shower to clean up after her friend. Discarded socks littered under Emma's recliner and sweaters hung haphazardly from every chair and railing. It unnerved Regina that Emma only considered her laundry basket an essential tool when it was laundry day, and more than once did she and Emma argue that the blonde couldn't find any of her things after Regina had gone through a vigorous cleaning session. So she held back, only picking up clothes that were in the way and tucking Emma's laptop charger out from the middle of the carpet where anyone could trip on it. By the time the shower was turned off and Emma was dressed in jeans and a loose softball tee, Regina already had an omelette cooked and ready to go. Emma had inhaled it after dousing it with hot sauce, and away they went, opting to make the walk into town rather than drive because the May weather was finally starting to warm up and the clouds were beginning to disappear.

Regina had filled Emma in on her plan then: a guitar was what she was looking for. The blonde was thrilled that Regina was going to be knocking things off of her list and was more than happy to oblige, not that Emma could carry a tune, but she was an artist. The musical creativity had to be buried somewhere in there.

The pawn shop had been in Storybrooke for as long as Emma could remember. During her brief fascination with spray paint, Emma had attempted to decorate its walls with her art. She was surprised the place wasn't better protected at night. One good rock could shatter the window, and anyone could steal the crystal unicorn mobile that hung on display. Despite its lack of security, the creepy old shop keeper, Mr. Gold, had appeared out of nowhere just when she uncapped the can. His stature was small, held weakly by a cane, and in the dark of the night, she could see his gold tooth glitter. She apologized, providing some lame excuse that she had gotten lost and never made her way to the shop again. Until now.

The bell jingled above their heads, and it seemed as if nothing had changed in the shop since the last time Emma had been that close to it. The mobile, coincidentally enough, had been purchased by her mother when she found out she was pregnant with Neal, but other than it still housed the same useless antique furniture. How this guy made a living Emma would never know. Then again how he was still living was a feat entirely.

"This place smells like old people," Emma whispered to Regina as the brunette bypassed the jewelry in the glass case and the hand-crafted chandeliers along the aisle.

She followed her to the back where a mahogany wardrobe say against the wall, and beside it was a collection of guitars. Immediately Emma's eyes were drawn to the Fender Stratocaster. Her Guitar Hero set looked just like it! "Woah. Get this one."

"I am not getting that one," Regina dismissed, already examining the acoustics.

"We could start a band," the blonde enticed, carefully lifting the guitar and pretending to play it. "Regina y los Dinos."

"A band with an acoustic and an electric?"

"Lily plays drums, remember? We can be an all-girl band."

Regina made a noise of acknowledgement with a slight wrinkle to her nose. She didn't have to say it out loud to know that she didn't like Emma's ex-girlfriend. It was probably why the brunette declined the invitations whenever Emma would grab a quick drink at the Rabbit Hole where Lily was a bartender. Then again, Regina didn't like to go out to bars to begin with.

"That's a beautiful piece." The low Scottish lithe of Mr. Gold surprised both women, Emma more so as she nearly dropped the Stratocaster. "Please be careful unless you're willing to pay for that."

She put it back carefully as Regina picked out a Dreadnought acoustic, wondering how this guy was still living. "We've come to pick out an instrument for me."

"And your preference is the guitar?"

Regina pulled the strap over her head and let the weight of the instrument drape against her front. She strummed an awkward note and winced.

"Are lessons included?" Emma jested, leaving her side to explore the rest of the shot. She squinted when she saw—Jesus was that a monkey paw in a case?

"Alas, I am only a procurer of fine products, not a master of them," the shop keeper said. "I'm sure we can find you a few books so long as your friend there doesn't tear up the place."

"Emma."

The blonde dropped her hand quickly to the side before she could make contact with the monkey paw glass then glanced back sheepishly. "What?"

* * *

By lunch they had come out of the pawn shop with a used guitar, a stack of learning books, and a case thrown in for half off by Mr. Gold. With the weight of the guitar in her hand, Regina felt like a new person already. Who would have thought she would be playing guitar? She never expressed a creative bone in her body, instead highlighting logic, facts, and words, but today that would change.

"So at what level can we cross off that you can play guitar?" Emma asked with the learning books in her arms. "When you're rocking out in stadiums or when you've got your scales down?"

"When I can play songs without aid," Regina decided. She was about to list off songs she would like to perfect when a display in the window caught her eye.

Storybrooke hadn't so much as seen a chain store, but it had its small town equivalent for Babies R Us. She and Emma frequented Once Upon a Child when Emma's mother, Mary Margaret, was pregnant with Neal, getting nappies and bottles and toys for the newborn. They hadn't been in it for eleven years, but she remembered how the miniature shoes and the adorable onesies made her want to squeal.

The display in the window was a bassinet, old-fashioned with drapery hanging off the edges and a foldable shade at the head of the bassinet. A doll was dressed in a blue and white striped onesie with a toy bottle in its palm and a matching hat on its head. The idea of motherhood never frightened her the way it did to Emma. For the first two months of Neal's life, Emma wasn't able to hold her brother, fearful of dropping him. It took a sick Mary Margaret and a Regina who forced Neal into his sister's arms because honestly, Emma was being ridiculous, that the blonde realized it wasn't so bad. He was kinda cute and squishy actually. They argued that Emma's distance those two months was why Neal had an undying devotion to Regina now, but the brunette simply claimed what's not to love. Emma had a hard time arguing that one.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" Emma joked, sidling up beside Regina as she examined the display.

"I want a baby." Now that it was out there Regina believed it and desired of all the more. "We're thirty-five, Emma. Don't you feel your biological clock ticking?"

She opened her mouth to agree but then shook her head and pursed her lips apologetically. "Not really, no."

Regina huffed and stared back at the baby inside the bassinet. "But a baby is a part of you. This little thing that loves you so much."

"You've already got me as a mini kid, do you really want one that will cry and poop?"

Regina glared. "It's not funny."

With that she began to march away, her heeled sandals clacking on the sidewalk.

"Regina!"

"Is it so bad that I want to experience pregnancy and have a child without complications?" Regina yelled behind her, uncaring that Emma had caught up in two strides.

Emma tugged her arm until she stopped and they were facing one another. "No," she pressed, her free hand squeezing reassuringly. "But this sounds like baby fever, muffin—" Regina rolled her eyes. "—and I get it, we're gonna be forty in a few years.  _God, that's gross_ , but what are you gonna do? Get yourself knocked up?"

Emma's brow furrowed when Regina's crinkled in thought. "No. Wait. What did I say?"

"Keep up that brilliance and I just might make you the godmother." Regina turned on her heel and continued back towards her home leaving Emma confused in her wake.

"Wait, what did I say?" She called after her. Another thought later, "Why  _wouldn't_  I be the godmother?"

* * *

The high she got from at least attempting to knock off two things off her bucket list dissipated as the weeks passed and her clumsy fingers reminded her why she also wasn't gifted playing piano as a child. She sat in her room on the chaise, glasses firmly on her face letting the Saturday morning sun filter in through the curtains as her hand cramped around the neck. One more hour of this and then she'd spend two hours listening to her Spanish tapes. At least that one she was gradually making progress. Her pronunciation was a little off, but as the instructors spoke basic words to her, it triggered memories of her childhood where she was fascinated by the different sounds Daddy was making. She strummed, but her palm brushed the other strings making her lose her form and producing a flat and awkward sounding note. She adjusted her hand, took a second, then strummed again. A perfect G. She moved to finger the B-note, but her hand cramped, forcing her to stretch it out.

"My hand is not big enough to hold your neck," Regina grumbled at the guitar.

Regina muttered nonsensical curses under her breath and continued practicing her scales. Quite honestly she thought she'd be performing songs right now like Selena and Carlos Santana, well maybe not Santana just yet, but certainly not strumming to ABCs and Twinkle Twinkle. Sure they were two different songs, but the chord progression was the same. Not that she had mastered either song. She pushed her glasses up on her nose and continued again, wincing whenever a chord was strum too hard or her fretting wasn't precise. It was difficult to concentrate when she could hear Emma banging around in her kitchen, whipping up a late breakfast.

The blonde had been dropped at Regina's house sometime around midnight, drunk and still singing Sonny and Cher. 'Coulda been my Sonny, Cher,' Emma had drawled as Regina led her into Emma's room of the house. Regina scrunched up her face in confusion but just shook her head. This was why she denied Emma's request on coming out for a few drinks. Plus she had guitar and Spanish in the morning, and she did not want to have a splitting hangover while remembering to conjugate her verbs. Emma, however, woke up as early as she usually did, refreshed and hangover-free. It was a little annoying that Emma could have fun without any repercussions even as they got older.

Regina sometimes wished she could be as carefree as Emma. It was partially what drew her to the blonde when they were so young. Emma wasn't stupid. Far from it. Her attention just waned in classes she couldn't care less for, and they both knew education was more a memory game than actual learning. Because Regina had seen her art, sometimes rifling through her friend's sketchbook to see she herself was the muse of the day, and she couldn't fathom why any art school would reject her. Their loss. But what Emma lacked in societal discipline she made up for in spunk. Who else would feel so comfortable walking around her apartment naked? She had to be more like Emma. Perhaps minus the nakedness. And the drunkenness. You didn't see Regina shooting back shots. Then again, that was never her thing in high school or university anyway. Even though Regina was the only friendship Emma took away from high school, the blonde made acquaintances just as quickly as she found eye candy for the night. Regina strummed a little too forcefully, her guitar sounding like a low  _thunk._

"Hey, Hendrix, got time for a sandwich?" Emma entered Regina's bedroom, half of a ham and cheese on a bagel already to her mouth as she knelt on the bed and shimmied to rest against the headboard.

Regina shook her head. "I've got to practice for another forty-five minutes, and then I'm going to quiz myself before doing my Spanish."

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize there was homework."

"It doesn't hurt to push yourself to your best."

"You sound like your mother." Regina stopped her strumming and levelled Emma with a furious glare. The blonde sat up straighter. "I mean, you're nothing like her. You're cooler and prettier and laid back."

Regina made a noise of acknowledgement and continued on with her practicing.

"You're definitely like your dad though." She stopped once more, though thoughtfully this time, as she heard Emma move off the bed and place her bagel on the nightstand. She walked the short distance to sit beside Regina on the chaise and gave a small smile. "Remember that time when you had a riding competition and had a panic attack because you thought you blew your routine?"

"He said I worked so hard and whatever happened he would be so proud and so impressed with me," she recalled with a sigh.

"So," Emma began gently easing the guitar over Regina's head and putting it against the chaise, "you can take a mini break because I have a surprise for you."

"But my Spanish—"

"You're routine-ing your life again. Come on, Regina. It'll still be here when we get home." Emma reached into her pocket and pulled out a silk night mask.

"I already have one of those." Regina stood yanking Emma to her feet.

"Not for sleeping. Put it on. I want to show you something."

"If I put that on I can't see what you have to show me, can I?" The brunette asked smartly. Emma rolled her eyes and held it out insistently, ignoring Regina's smirk as she took it and put it over her forehead for the time being. "If you wanted to role play burglar and house owner, all you had to do was ask."

"I'll keep that in mind for our next drunken night," the blonde said not missing a beat before wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. "But your glasses always struck me as sexy librarian."

Regina rolled her eyes this time and removed her glasses, tucking its arm into the collar of her v-neck shirt. "The last time you had a surprise for me, you burned a cake in my oven."

"Hey, your clock tricked me," the blonde defended. "I thought it was the timer."

"And you left my birthday cake in the oven for two hours.

"I got you birthday vodka." Emma shook her hands waving off any further arguments. "Come on. This one is oven-free."

Sighing with a combination of reluctance and excitement since Emma's surprises, though lacking in execution made up for it with good-natured intent, were something to look forward to. She pulled the sleep mask over her eyes until darkness surrounded her, and reached out, finding Emma's hands and following the blonde down the stairs.

* * *

" _Hola. Me llamo_  your name."

"Hola. Me llamo Regina." She playfully shook her head when Emma repeated, saying 'your name' instead of Emma.

"Great! Now that we've introduced ourselves, let's familiarize you with some key pronouns," the disembodied voice on the radio encouraged. It helped Regina that the woman speaking had a pleasant accent, making sure she pronounced each word correctly. "I,  _yo_. You,  _tú or usted_. He or him,  _él_. She or her,  _ella_. We or us,  _nosotros_. You plural,  _vosotros._  They or them,  _ellos or ellas_. Now it's your turn."

This time they both repeated it flawlessly, though Regina's pronunciation was more spot on than Emma's. That could have been the Cuban blood running through her or simply because she had been on a Selena kick for weeks, determined to pick up Spanish guitar.

Regina's phone with the downloaded basic Spanish files played through the auxiliary cable in Emma's bug. She supposed it was a step up from the truck Emma used to drive in high school, but Regina still made fun of her for the lack of CD player and the cassette tape adapter that allowed them to play music from their phones. If she was going to be momentarily kidnapped, she would at least get her daily dose of Spanish lessons.

"Great!" The tape beamed. "The boy,  _el niño_. The girl,  _la niña_."

"The boy,  _el niño_. The girl,  _la niña_."

"You know," Emma began, shifting gears and pressing down the clutch, "I could teach you a language."

"If you make another language of love joke—"

The blonde barked out a laugh before clearing her throat. "No. No. I-ay an-cay eak-spay ig-pay atin-lay."

Despite the mask over her face, Regina still rolled her eyes. "Pig Latin does not count."

"Es-yay i-tay oes-day!" the woman insisted.

Regina simply shook her head, her lips quirking in a smile and blindly reached to rap Emma's jaw with her knuckles. " _Idiota_." She didn't see the blonde intentionally move into her path to get contact nor did she witness the smug grin on Emma's face.

Emma let her continue her Spanish lessons in peace. By the time she was halfway through the tape and her phone was swapped out for the radio, Regina was starting to get restless. She had tried to navigate where they were by feeling alone, but she found herself more disoriented than not. As they drove out of town and toward its outskirts, she had an inkling though. Somewhere in the back of her memory, her body was used to making this trip, sitting in the passenger seat with the windows rolled down because the air conditioning in the truck was broken, Emma singing along to the song on the radio and belting out the lyrics until Regina sang along with her.

She could still hear Emma singing quietly to herself, except this time they were in the blonde's beetle as yellow as her hair. The gears shifted smoothly as they turned into what felt like their destination. They weren't in a pickup truck, and they were definitely not sixteen anymore, but the gravel under the tires led her to one conclusion. "Are we at the stables?"

"Stables?" The blonde feigned in a sotto voice before killing the engine. "What stables?"

Regina pulled the sleep mask off her face, unsurprised yet entirely shocked to see the stables she had used to frequent almost every day in high school. It was different from when she last saw it. The barns had gotten a new paint job, the sign was updated with a more modern logo, but the smell—the smell of oats, and hay, and animals was all the same as a grin spread over her face.

"Number four?" Emma asked.

Regina didn't answer. Instead she pushed open the door with a firm shove and looked up Storybrooke Stables, holding her hand over her eyes at the sun's glint. "I haven't been here in ages."

"I know." Emma moved around the car to stand beside her. "Senior year. End of the summer. Just before my parents took us to New York. You had your last riding competition here."

"I got first place too," Regina nudged her shoulder smugly.

"You also made another rider cry."

"They insulted your car!"

"You dismantled their whole self-concept with just your words," the blonde laughed before dropping an arm around Regina's shoulder with an affectionate squeeze. "What was her name?"

"Zelena Weston," Regina said with a sneer.

"Ah, your equestrian arch-nemesis. Didn't she try to steal your dressage routine?"

"It's a good thing I gave her a fake one then."

The blonde laughed and tugged Regina's hand still laughing. "Come on. They've got a free hour before the classes start."

"How did you arrange this?"

"See, I know a girl who used to win this ranch a million and one ribbons and trophies," Emma explained. "I might have mentioned that she wanted to ride again."

"I don't know any of the horses." Regina almost looked nervous as they stepped into the barn. Immediately her senses were flooded once more, and a wave of nostalgia hit her face. She hadn't even been able to visit when Rocinante was let go, her bar exam the same time her prized steed had fallen ill. Guilt washed over her, but she felt Emma's hand in hers, squeezing reassuringly.

"So?" Emma led her down to the head office. "You're a natural."

* * *

Regina _was_  a natural. There was something about her that any and all horses took to. Emma remembered being tutored by her and severely judging her that she literally had her own pony, but when she decided to check out Regina's riding competition one weekend and saw the type of beast the brunette handled, she ate her words. Rocinante was no pony. The horse Regina was petting now, however, seemed bigger to Emma, but Regina insisted he was fairly average for his size. The horse, midnight black both in coat and mane, neighed and nuzzled against Regina's face. Regina would know exactly what breed he was, but to Emma all horses were horses.

She was actually planning on riding with Regina today, and the owner had set aside two horses just for them, but her fears got the best of her when they walked through the stables and horses began sticking out their heads left and right. Regina revelled in it. Riding helmet already tucked under her arm, the brunette nearly skipped to the end of the aisle, petting horses' noses as she went until she reached the stallion before her. Midnight was his name, and appropriately so. Emma had been assigned to Biscuit, a roan horse just as big if not bigger than Midnight. But again Emma's perspective was failing her as she gulped up at her ride for the hour.

She shrugged her baseball cap off, tied her hair into a low ponytail, and slipped it back over her head with a firm wiggle. Her hair was not hay this time.

"He's sweet," Regina cooed to the horse. She looked up at Emma with a wry smirk. "Are you still frightened?"

"No," Emma answered too hastily. With determination she reached out her hand to stroke Biscuit's face, but when she made contact, he whinnied startled and trotted back into his pen. She pulled back her hand and jumped backwards with a yelp. That thing almost took her arm off!

Regina stepped in, pressing a reassuring hand to Emma's chest. "He might not have seen you." She held her free hand out to Biscuit gently until the roan horse nuzzled against her palm. "See? He's friendly too."

"Yeah," Emma said shakily. She kept her eyes firmly on the animal before she felt fingers snake through her own.

Regina had taken her hand and held it up to Biscuit, and for the first time in nearly twenty years, Emma was petting a horse. She expected his snout to be wet and pliant like a dog's nose, but it was tough and strong. Regina grinned, releasing her hand until it was just Emma on her own. "You've got it."

She smiled softly and stepped closer. Adult she may be, but this seven year old beast was three hundred million times her size. Maybe not that much, but she had been content to spending her life watching horses from the sideline. "You make this look easy."

"Just let him know that you're a friend."

Emma chuckled awkwardly. "Can he buy me dinner first?"

The horse whinnied again, apparently in contentment, but Emma whipped her hand back and partially hid behind Regina. The brunette stifled a laugh and put herself between her friend and the horse. "We can always try this again another day."

Emma's face fell. "No. We're already here. We can hit three things off your list."

"Technically I haven't even accomplished the first two."

" _Someone_  insists Pig Latin isn't a language."

Regina shook her head fondly and gave Emma a reassuring squeeze. "Watch me mount mine first and then you do the same with Biscuit."

As if twenty years hadn't passed, Regina entered Midnight's stall, giving the dark animal another nuzzle before gripping the horn of the saddle in one hand and the cantle with the other. She stepped her left foot into the stirrup and swung her right leg back easily sitting astride the horse like the natural she was. "Do you need me to help you up?"

Emma visibly gulped. "I think I got it."

Regina giggled, her earlier reluctance to pause her guitar playing gone with how carefree she was on the horse. "Come on, Em, we've got about forty-five minutes now."

The blonde winced. She was right. Emma was gonna blow Regina's bucket list because she was too chicken to get on a horse. It's just a horse, Swan. Cautiously, she entered the pen and held her hands up in trepidation. "Hey Biscuit. It okay if I climb you and plop my weight on your back?"

The brunette snorted but waited patiently. Biscuit, however, seemed to look at Emma skeptically. Shaking it off, she grabbed the horn and tried to get her footing in the saddle. The thing was nearly three feet above the ground, how the hell was she supposed to pull herself up that high?

"I'll grab the stool," Regina decided, already preparing her dismount.

"I'm good," the blonde insisted. She worked out. This was like doing a tricep dip. On a thousand pound animal. She hoisted herself up, but her foot missed the stirrup, causing her back hand to come down hard on Biscuit's backside. The horse whinnied frightened and reared up on his back legs, making Emma yelp and jump off, scurrying to the far side of the stable.

Regina was on the ground in a heartbeat, calming Biscuit down first because there was nothing worse than being trampled by a frightened horse and its metal hooves. Emma wasn't hurt. Not physically. Her ego, however, had taken a massive blow and she wondered if she pretended to play dead she'd get some sympathy votes. Before she could pick herself up from the littered hay of the stall, Regina was hovering over her, checking her head and and arms for any abrasions.

"You'd think they'd be less scary at thirty-five," the blonde mumbled.

Regina helped her to her feet, wiping off stray hay from her softball tee. "On the contrary, as we get older we use reason and logic to make fear manifest out of nothing."

"And what was my reason and logic behind this one?"

"Big horse is scary," Regina gruffed in a caveman voice, earning herself a soft push from the blonde.

She worried her lip looking from her friend to the animal with reluctance before shucking off her cap in dejection. "Here's the thing, I don't know if I can get on that thing today."

Regina patted her arm in understanding before moving to in clasp her helmet. "That's perfectly all right."

"But," Emma squinted with one eye nearly shut in hopeful persuasion, "can I still see you ride?"

* * *

Emma was once as frequent a visitor of the farm as Regina was. The Cuban and Italian in the brunette's blood made for an impressive temper and inevitable road rage. That flaw landed the girl's car into the shop more often than she cared to admit, but one moment that was shockingly not her fault, of simply driving along Main, unaware of the Honda that had missed the stop sign, sent Regina's Benz into the junk yard for good. Through some miracle or an act of magic, no one had been severely injured. Regina had had major whiplash and burns across her face and torso from the airbags, and she had been jumpy being a driver for nearly a year, but it forced Emma to wake up at the crack of dawn, warm up her pickup truck and pick up Regina to bring her to riding practice nearly every weekend in high school. Even after Regina got used to being behind a wheel again and had gotten a new car did Emma continue to drive her friend. She found it peaceful, the early morning dew on the grass and the only sounds around her were the soft neighing of still enclosed animals and the soft trot of Regina and Rocinante out on the field.

But the colours of the morning made Emma want to weep with awe.

She used to take her sketchbook and art box with her, capturing the pink and orange of the rising sun, the harsh yellows escaping between gaps in the tree tops in the distance, the bright blue and brown blur of Regina and Rocinante galloping on, the purple and blue hydrangeas surrounding her along the fence. It was definitely a sight for sore eyes.

She wished that would have been the last memory associated with the farm, but it wasn't. The last time Emma was at Storybrooke Stables, she had been outside the barn as Regina's not so little pony Rocinante was being led into a trailer where he'd live the rest of his days on a pasture in Lincoln. She hadn't been able to give the animal the hug and kiss Regina nearly begged her to, but she did manage a pat to the stallion's head affectionately. It wasn't until she got home that night did she think to draw Regina a portrait of her first friend. The brunette still had it hanging in her office at home.

It wasn't Rocinante she was watching now, but Midnight stayed true to his name as he galloped past her in a black blur. She was just able to catch the barest hint of a smile on Regina's face as she rode. It was equal parts pride and satisfaction, as if galloping away from the rest of the world as fast as she could. In that moment, Emma could have sworn that her best friend looked like she was eighteen all over again. Back in her riding coat and hair braided down her back, Regina was as carefree then as she was now, a borrowed helmet and nothing fancier than jeans and a button up.

Leaning against the fence along the field, the blonde waved as Regina reached the jumps and easily rode Midnight over the first hurdle. Then the second. Then the third. This woman should have gone on to the Olympics or something. If Emma was brave enough she would have imagined how exhilarating it must feel riding, gulping down air and flying through the wind as your movements moulded alongside the animal's. Emma may have chickened out joining her friend for the ride, but there was no doubt about it that the smile Regina sported was all worth it.

Pulling out a neatly folded piece of paper from her pocket along with a pen, Emma read down at the list she had recounted from memory and put a check mark beside #4—Go riding again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer in Chapter One.
> 
> AN: Thanks for the support!

Regina didn't usually stay up late on weeknights, but a fleeting thought kept her up. The display in Once Upon a Child had her thinking about what it would be like to have a little one in the house, one who wasn't Emma of course. Images of painted nurseries and stuffed animals and first steps and first words and first laughs kept echoing inside her head long enough that sleep wasn't looking like an option. If she imagined it hard enough, she could hear the phantom cry of a baby in the guest room and pitter patter on the hardwood of tiny feet getting into trouble. More than that she envisioned a small child calling her 'Mama' and cuddling up together during thunderstorms and mini wars during bath time. No doubt any child of hers would be spoiled rotten by Emma.  _A cool aunt_ , Emma would say. Regina grimaced at the future trouble the two would eventually get into. Throw pillows tossed on the ground in an attempt to make a fort, flour caking her kitchen because of cookies gone awry. Already she could see the half-made tree house out in her backyard where a large Honey Crisp tree stood.

It was nice.

She had to stop herself before she even considered putting away college fund money for a child that didn't even exist yet, but the idea had her twitching with excitement. She slipped out of bed, grabbing her laptop from her vanity quickly before returning and leaning against the headboard, determination set as she fired up the machine. She was well-off, had a steady job, and room to spare. No, she wouldn't get herself knocked up by a stranger in a bar just to have a baby, but there were other ways.

Her eyes lit up in the glow of her screen as she pulled up her browser and did a quick search. A clinic just in Boston specialized in sperm donors, helping women in their more mature age to conceive. Regina had done her research thoroughly, not wanting to go to a seedy location that sold their patients' information to the highest bidder on Craigslist. It was reputable, confirmed by the number of doctors and patients vouching for it. She'd get her doctor's opinion of course, but all she had to do was pass a medical exam to make sure her womb was suitable for a growing child, choose the proper donor, and raise the baby. Simple as that.

The medical exam felt more like a laboratory experiment than anything else. Doctor Whale, a fresh face to the small hamlet of a town, had done every and all tests on Regina's behest. If there was any chance harm could come to her baby then she didn't want to risk it. He assured her that although unadvisable, women in their mid to late thirties had given birth to healthy babies and he was confident she would be the same. While all was said and done Regina wanted to make sure her child would have the best, starting with pre-natal care. After a lengthy appointment, Regina waited.

The results wouldn't come in for a few weeks, and the anticipation was killing her. The first few days, she made a vow not to pick out the colour scheme of her guest bedroom even though she made a mental note to tell Emma they would be sharing from now on, and she most certainly did not investigate prospective donors.

That vow lasted all of two days.

Regina liked to be prepared. It was her thing, and being ready for a child surely graced the top. So in between work, guitar, and her Spanish lessons, Regina spent hours in her home study searching online catalogues of nursery items. This was practical, she told herself. How was she supposed to prepare herself for a child if she didn't look up the sales on cribs and changing tables? Every growing child needed a collection of books, and a trunk full of stuffed animals and baby monitors. She needed a baby monitor and gates and—god did she always have that many sharp edges in her house?

Her addiction to planning the nursery escalated into what her baby would look like. She obviously didn't want her child to be half-serial killer half-lawyer and traits were a very important factor. So she looked, just taking a peak, at donors and reviews of the Boston clinic.

There was a male, 6'6, African-American, black hair, brown eyes and a psychology professor. Regina mulled over that option, adding him to her list of traits she found admirable. Already the legal pad beside her laptop was half full with various men. A 5'10 Korean amateur basketball player with brown hair and brown eyes, a 6'0 Irish high school teacher with blonde hair and green eyes, and a 5'8 Brazilian mechanic with black hair and amber eyes all had graced her list. She was about to dive into the history of the psychology professor when something pinched her side and blew in her ear.

She yelped and jumped in her seat, holding her hands up in front of her face ready to attack.

"I knew those self-defense classes would come in handy." Emma smirked and sat down on the edge of her desk. "What has you so concentrated? I thought we were gonna go for a walk down by the pier."

"Oh." Regina straightened up in her seat and looked down at her attire. They had made plans to take advantage of the warming May weather, and Regina had been on her way to change into jeans but the lure of her computer had captured her attention.

"Don't tell me you're working on a Saturday," Emma frowned. Regina shook her head and scrambled to minimize the screen, but it was too late. Emma's hand was over hers on the mouse and they momentarily battled for control. "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing," Regina grunted, but Emma had slid off the desk and squeezed herself into the office chair and effectively nudged Regina out of the way with a huff.

"Regina, if it's porn—"

"It's not porn."

"—you don't need to hide it from me." She pulled up the browser with an amused grin on her face before she took in the words on the screen.  _Sperm donation?_  "So it's….kind of porn?"

Regina blushed, shifting uncomfortably in the chair until Emma scooted to the edge and gave her more room. "I'm looking at my options."

"Clearly." Emma hovered over the legal pad of notes, eyes wide at the eligible donors. "Wow. You were serious."

"Why wouldn't I be serious?"

"Because kids are huge responsibilities and commitments. You can't just pick one from Babies R Us and return them if the key to make them stop crying is broken."

"I'm aware, Emma," Regina deadpanned. "I really don't think you should be giving me a lesson on responsibility and commitment."

The blonde arched her eyebrow and Regina winced before shutting her eyes. "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for."

"S'okay." She looked at the legal pad once more and nodded thoughtfully. "Your baby will be cute."

"Of course, he or she will look like me." Regina settled more comfortably and leaned over the pad with Emma. "I'm more inclined on picking the Brazilian mechanic."

"That's different," the blonde noted. "I thought for sure you were going to go for the psych professor."

"I think it important a child be both logical and practical."

"A perfect recipe."

"He doesn't have to be perfect, but it's important for him to have hands-on skills."

Emma snapped her head up. " _He?_ "

Regina seemed to take in what she had said and rolled a shoulder. "Or she."

"You said he," the blonde grinned. "A dark haired little trouble maker tracking mud on the stairs in his tiny tux?"

"Well, if he wants to pursue track and field then who am I to say otherwise, but why on earth is he wearing a tux?"

"Special occasion," Emma filled in easily. "We snuck away and made a mess."

"Of course you did. And what are you wearing on this special occasion?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," the blonde winked, earning herself a push from Regina.

She caught Emma's eyes as the blonde ceased her chuckling and mulled over the idea thoughtfully in her head. When Regina thought about it, any major occurrence to happen in either of their lives would affect the other. Regina had chosen a job in Augusta on purpose in order to remain close to home, and any of Emma's relationships that lasted more than one night fell under Regina's scrutiny. Bringing a baby in totally accounted for a major occurrence.

"I could teach him to run. Maybe we can actually get someone to beat my 100 meter dash record." Emma finally said smugly.

"If he did, you'd be angry."

"Would not. That's like my little protégé to carry on the Swan name." Suddenly Emma's eyes lit up in excitement. "What if he's a little Brian Bolland? We can set up a table in my place for an arts and crafts table with those colourful mini plastic chairs and kid-sized eisels."

"Why is he taking after you?" Regina asked perplexed.

"Come on, I'm gonna be the good cop in this situation. I will pass my wisdom on to him like you will teach him how to ride a horse and make other riders cry."

That stopped Regina momentarily, a little mini her on a horse riding wildly at the stables.

"He can also play softball. And before you say anything, I can coach and make sure he doesn't get hurt."

A hint of a smile began to blossom on Regina's face as that little boy in a muddy tux ran rampant through her mind. Oh yes, she could most definitely see Emma chasing after him, and she after them. Softball didn't seem so terrible before another thought crossed through her mind, pulling her away from the daydream. "Two weeks ago you were against this. It sounds like someone else is starting to get a little baby fever."

"I wasn't against it," Emma argued cautiously. When Regina remained quiet, Emma furthered her explanation. "I'm just worried."

"For the child?"

"For you." Emma swivelled in the chair and took both of Regina's hands into her own. "I have no doubt that you'd make an excellent mother. Look at Neal, that kid loves you. But I don't want you to use a kid as a means to fill a space in your life. They're more precious than that."

"I know," the brunette agreed thoughtfully. She was quiet for a long moment before chuckling softly to herself. "I never imagined you to be the one giving parenting lessons."

"Us kids need to look out for one another."

Regina laid her head on her friend's shoulder and sighed. "I'm not filling a void."

"No? Because you're still kind of in a funk, cupcake."

"I know." She shook her head though the uncertainty hung in the air. One minute she's thinking too much and the next not at all. With a heavy sigh, she dropped her hands in Emma's lap. "Perhaps talking about an imaginary son wasn't the best way of persuading me against it. Now I can't help but picture him playing tee ball and covered in glitter."

The blonde grinned and gave her hands a squeeze. "But?"

"But this is too spontaneous of a decision to make in a short amount of time," concluded Regina, clarity filling her head.

Emma nodded. "But I'll tell you what. We'll make a pact."

Regina shook her head and stood from the chair, closing her laptop and putting away her legal pad. "A blood oath to remain best friends forever?"

"Kinda." Regina turned to raise a questioning eyebrow. "In five years, when we're old and dried out—" Regina made a face but Emma continued. "—And we are still eligible bachelorettes but no one is worthy enough to grace our presence, we have a baby."

Regina snapped her head back in shock, colour tinting her cheeks. "You and me?"

"Yeah," the blonde shrugged. "Come on, did we not just envision our kid's life together? What's so bad about us starting a family?"

"For starters, we're not together."

"Easily rectifiable," she dismissed with a wink. Regina bit her lip and rolled her eyes, pushing at Emma's shoulder to keep her in the chair when she tried to stand. When she settled against her desk in contemplation, the blonde spoke again. "I'm just putting it out there. When we go to our 25th high school reunion we can give the school more fuel to add to their rumours. You know, have a kid and a dog and a white picket fence. We can be that token lesbian couple they always thought we were."

"No U-Haul?"

"What do I need that for? Half my stuff is already here."

Emma did drive a valid argument, and she was right—if she ever did convert Emma's room into a nursery, Regina would have to make space for Emma's things in her closet. The brunette chuckled and took Emma's hand to pull her up but the blonde draped it casually around Regina's shoulder. "You're incorrigible."

"But you love me."

Regina didn't deny the claim.

* * *

Emma wasn't necessarily the trouble maker growing up. Sure, she had a bit of a tagging phase when she was sixteen, but she just liked the way graffiti looked on brick, and what she drew on the walls weren't some claiming of space or sticking it to the man. She created art. Large murals of animals using just black ink only to have splashes of colour it looked like it bled with life. Unnamed women weeping in the skies as their tears poured down onto the earth, invigorating the roots and growing trees. At first glance many took her fly-off-the-handle lifestyle for superficial and distant, but really, she enjoyed the views. The constant changing nature of her job and her need to travel enhanced her desire to see beauty everywhere. The sun filtering in through the windows in the Cayman Islands. The way a vase sat on a coworker's desk, the only splash of colour in an otherwise neutral office space. A person's facial expression as it shifts imperceptibly so as they hear tragedy. She wanted to capture that on page and immortalize that one moment of times perfection. It was what she had been trying to do since she was in high school, though her dreams of going to Columbia U had been shot. She got passed it, barely. For months afterwards Emma hadn't been able to pick up a pencil and even when she tried, her lines came out unsure and her shading dramatic.

Then one day Regina yanked her out of bed and thrust a sketchpad and pencil into her hands, taking Emma's place on the bed and staring her down in a way that nearly frightened the depressed blonde. " _Draw me,_ " Regina had instructed, lying back on her arms. "Don't stop until you have a full portrait."

Emma never stopped.

All day, they had stayed cooped up in her room, discarded paper littering her feet and bed. An eye on one page, a nose on the other, just the background of her room gracing a fresh one's page, until finally she had completed it. A full body portrait of Regina lying on her bed. It was simple and lacked excruciating detail, but she had done it. She managed to capture Regina's curls fanning over her shoulder, and though she needed to practice depth in her hair, the perfected nose and the sculpted eyebrows were entirely Regina.

She may not have become that coveted comic book artist nor the next Van Gogh, but the muse hadn't dried up since that day, and as images of that little boy in a muddy tux ran through her mind, she was starting to accept why.

In her mother's living room in the same apartment where just upstairs Emma had found her muse, Regina sat cross-legged on the carpet, guitar in her lap and a smile on her face with Neal sitting opposite her. Eleven-years old and the boy was positively smitten with her. Swallowing roughly, Emma couldn't blame him. It didn't take an artist to know that Regina was beautiful and talks of that little boy running around the house got the blonde thinking. What  _were_ they doing now? Twenty years of late night conversation, sleepovers in the same bed, and harmless flirting was starting to escalate into something Emma wasn't quite sure she was ready for, but goddamn could she not stop thinking about it. Regina as a mother was...nice. More than nice. She was great with Neal, and whenever her mom needed volunteers with her kindergarten class Regina would happily oblige. More importantly Regina included her in the little family she wanted to start. She could totally be the cool aunt but if there was something more—

"What's on your mind, sweetie?" Her mother, Mary Margaret, surprised Emma by sneaking up behind her at the kitchen island, stirring a bowl of cookie dough. Flour dusted the older woman's cheeks that matched the whisps of grey in her otherwise chestnut hair.

"Nothing." Emma continued rolling out the dough for the pie crust she should have been flattening before Regina and Neal's laughter had distracted her.

"You were staring at Regina. Again."

"I wasn't."

"Yes, you were," Neal piped up, standing in the middle of the living room with Regina's guitar looking large on his smaller frame. "You were being creepy."

"You're a creep," the blonde shot back earning a scornful look from her mother.

Regina laughed at the Swan siblings before reaching around to adjust Neal's hold on the guitar. "Just like that, strum, and you've got yourself a G."

"Can you play us a song?" Neal held up the guitar hopefully, and though Emma knew Regina could hold her own when put on the spot, the hesitance painting her cheeks was pretty adorable.

"Yes, Regina. Play," Mary Margaret encouraged with a smile.

The younger brunette nodded and took the guitar from Neal. She slowly sat at the head of the mismatched dining table and put all her attention on her instrument. Emma had seen her practice, but the intense concentration on usually smooth features was nothing to be ignored.

"I'm not very good," Regina prefaced.

"Just play, Mills." Regina glared at Emma's demand, but the blonde just smirked and settled herself more comfortably on the island stool.

With all the Swans' attention on her, Regina took a steadying breath and readied her fingering. The same two notes came ringing out of the guitar, alternating between one and the other. Emma thought she recognized it from the two notes alone, and then Regina started to hum making her guess correctly.  _Chasing Cars._ Huh, how fitting. The chorus picked up, and Regina moved from the alternating notes to build the beat. Emma grinned, a sense of pride filling within her. She knew Regina kept a vigorous practice schedule but she never realized how good her friend had gotten. She studied her in awe.

Regina's grip on the neck had loosened when she began to relax and though she still kept her gaze locked on where her fingers were on the frets, it wasn't the laser focus of earlier. She was trusting herself. Knowing she knew the song so much that Emma began to hum along with her. The second sound must have startled the brunette for she looked up, fumbling her notes and ending the song entirely.

The blonde winced apologetically but Regina said nothing as she continued to lock eyes with Emma, almost confusedly so. Her forehead creased, her eyes squinted, and her nose wrinkled in contemplation. She didn't know why but Emma felt like she had been caught stealing cookies, yet all she could think was  _damn_. She really wanted to draw Regina just then.

Mary Margaret clapped wildly, breaking the spell cast over the two friends and soon Neal joined in on the celebration. "Oh my goodness, Regina, that was amazing!"

The older Swan went over to give Regina an affectionate squeeze around the shoulders.

Regina shook her head and brought the guitar down from her lap. "I made mistakes."

"It's okay," Neal piped in. "Like Mom always says, we learn from our mistakes."

* * *

"You  _were_  staring at me earlier." Regina surprised Emma in her old room where the blonde had snuck away after a second helping of apple pie and more than her fair share of cookies. She claimed she needed to nap, but instead she pulled out a ratty sketchbook that held her earliest drawings and began to sketch. She couldn't stop each fleck of gold in deep chocolate eyes or the soft curls in a mop of chestnut hair when Regina startled her.

She shut the book closed before shrugging casually. "You're pretty. I can't stare?"

Regina snorted and scooted onto the bed beside her. "Was I that bad?"

"No! Are you crazy?"

"You were staring so hard, I thought it must have sounded like nails on a chalkboard." Regina fingered the opening of Emma's sketchbook, glancing at her from under her lashes.

Emma stopped her from opening it, and that alone was a telling move. The blonde never kept her illustrations away from Regina. In fact, Regina was an avid reader of Emma's original comic  _The Saviour._ The blonde had been sitting on this project for a few years now, randomly pulling out her sketchbook or pieces of scrap paper to either draw out a scene or make a note about it. It wasn't the average comic, Emma had promised. Think psychological insight to the pressures of being a super, she had said. Regina only considered herself a comic reader whenever Emma all but forced her to read specific trades, but  _The Saviour_  she would read.

Regina raised a curious brow but retrieved her hand back. "What's on your mind?"

What wasn't going through her mind? Regina's mid-life crisis seemed to activate a mini mental breakdown in Emma's head. Not to the degree of her lost art school, but she was suddenly questioning her and Regina's relationship, or lack thereof—well they  _did_ have a relationship. They were friends. Best friends. And twenty years was nothing to laugh about. And Emma would be lying if she hadn't wondered what it would be like to be…more with her, and hold her and be there for her, but really, they were already doing that, so what was the problem? Just tell her.  _Tell her. Tell her. Tell her_. She was pushing Regina to be spontaneous and here she was not taking a chance.

"Emma?"

"Road trip," came out of the blonde's mouth instead. Regina squinted in surprise, but Emma mentally kicked herself and continued, running with it. "You have a million vacation days, right?"

"About forty."

"Geez," the blonde mumbled momentarily distracted. "Anyway, I have a brilliant plan."

"Will this require a sleep mask?"

She dismissed her question with her own, diving full force into this plan because the alternative was not what she wanted to think of. "Want to be spontaneous?"

"Haven't I been?"

"Even more spontaneous."

Regina's silence was more nervous hesitation than contemplative thought. " _A road trip_." The brunette deadpanned.

"Road trip," she repeated with glee, sliding the sketchbook away and tucking it safely into her bedside drawer. She sat back up with excitement. "Don't act so scared, it was on your list."

"And when do you suppose we go?"

"As soon as you can get time off."

"Where are we going?"

"Wherever you want."

"Emma."

"Regina," she insisted, turning in bed and gripping Regina's head between her hands. She ignored how close they were and pressed on because nudging Regina, that she was familiar with. "When was the last time you had a vacation? A real one. Not just random days off because you needed someone to be home to meet the internet guy."

"I've traveled," the brunette insisted.

"We went to the Cayman Islands for a joint twenty-fifth birthday celebration. I think you're due for a vacation."

"Emma," Regina huffed, shaking her head out of the blonde's grasp. "It's just a silly exercise list. I don't expect to do everything on it."

"Is that why you're learning Spanish and playing guitar?" Emma argued. Regina turned away, nibbling on her lip so hard Emma was sure she was going to draw blood.

"But," Regina began in one final attempt at dissuade, "your job."

"I'll quit." Regina groaned and dropped her head onto Emma's shoulder, and the blonde knew she had won. "Come on. Where's that spontaneity?"

* * *

It was surprisingly easy for Regina to take an undetermined amount of leave off. Whether Spencer was glad to be rid of her or he was feeling extra generous in the hopes that he could be a bigger ass to her upon her return was up in the air, but it all made sense when Regina heard through the grapevine that Spencer was telling people she was on sabbatical. Perhaps snapping at him had helped. Kathryn Nolan all but begged her to go, reminding the brunette that it was about time she had a damn vacation and to make sure Emma was good wherever they went.

Although on vacation, that didn't make Regina's stress levels go down one bit. She spent her first free day off, researching hotels and attractions in New York. A Cirque du Soleil was playing and perhaps they could catch a show. The map folded out on her office desk highlighted the route they would take in red. Star stickers were pinned along the road that said a hotel and gas station were along the route, blue dots indicated novelty diners that Regina reluctantly agreed that she would frequent, and green dots meant shopping outlets.

They were set to leave tomorrow morning after Emma's last day as reception, and if all went well, they'd be visiting the Empire State Building by 6 PM Wednesday night. Her list of things she had packed was sitting on her vanity, every small box beside each item checked in red pen. A suitcase was packed and sitting in her foyer, and Regina had even prided herself by naming each item in Spanish before she packed it away.  _Bañodor. Cepillo de dientes. La ropa interior_. Check. A case of water bottles was set in her refrigerator, waiting for the day to be transferred to the cooler for their long drive to the city. On a whim, she brought her guitar case to the foyer by her belongings and nodded in satisfaction. Take that, spontaneity. Yes, this road trip was going exactly as Regina planned.

Tom Cochrane came on the radio once more, and if Regina had magic, she'd blast the thing into oblivion. Of course Emma made a road trip playlist, and of course she put "Life is a Highway" on it at least four times. And that was only in her conscious state. She couldn't imagine how many times the song had played in its rotation when she had fallen asleep sometime after Holloway. Though barely out of Storybrooke, once Regina had settled into the bug, she let the stress from planning the trip dull her into sleep. She fought it for a while, feeling guilty that Emma had worked the day before and was still fit to drive, but the blonde just childishly ruffled her hair and encouraged her to recline her seat and relax. Tom Cochrane, however, was quite an alarm clock.

Regina sat up, adjusted her chair properly and reached out to unplug Emma's phone from the auxiliary.

"Good morning, starshine." Emma patted the corner of her own mouth. "You've got a little drool there."

"I do not drool," Regina insisted, wiping away the liquid with the back of her hand.

"Just like you don't snore."

"Where are we?" Flipping her sunglasses onto her head, Regina wiped the sleep from her eyes before stretching her arms with a cat-like satisfaction. Recognizing the signs around her, she perked up. "Oh, we're nearly here. Right on schedule. It's just the next exit and—"

Emma shifted gears and sped up past the exit, keeping her eyes on the road.

"Emma!" Regina turned in her seat, her eyes ablaze. "You missed our exit. Take the next one and circle back."

The blonde simply shrugged. "Not a fan of New York."

"You couldn't have told me that while I was planning this trip?" She settled her soon to be ex-friend with a glare before reaching behind her and grabbing her backpack. She grumbled about plans and itineraries all the while undrawing her bag and pulling out her carefully colour-coded map. "It won't kill you to have an itinerary, you know?"

"Let me see what's on the list?"

Regina dug through the bag and handed over the list of things to see. "The view from the World Trade Center watch tower is even better than the one from the Empire State. I suppose we can go there first before checking in to the hotel but I—Emma!"

The blonde had rolled down her window and chucked the itinerary into the wind. Regina's mouth dropped open like a fish. "You just—"

"I'm sorry," Emma apologized, legitimately wincing and fearful of the repercussions.

"Pull over."

"What?"

"Pull over and pick it up."

"Come on, Regina. It's a freaking itinerary."

"Then what are we supposed to do then, hmm?" She was livid. Her hand was on her waist as she glared daggers at the blonde. No doubt Emma was trying to avoid eye contact, but the tension in her knuckles on the wheel had her knowing she was getting through to her.

"Pick a place on the map." Emma briefly turned to her and eyed her challengingly.

"New York."

"Regina, we've been to New York."

"And what if I like it?"

"Okay," Emma conceded. "If you really, really,  _really_  want to go to New York, I'll take the next exit. But can you humour me, close your eyes, and pick a place on the map please?"

They held a staring contest. Well, Regina stared while Emma kept straight on, refusing to crumble under pressure. Sometimes she wondered how she and Emma remained friends for so long, both their stubbornness clashing heads on more than one occasion. Deeming this a battle she couldn't win, and making a mental note to drive at the next pit stop, Regina huffed audibly and shucked out the map. If she could land relatively close to New York she'd be able to get Emma to turn around. She made a show of closing her eyes and twirling a finger in circles before dropping it down onto the map with a dull plunk. She opened her eyes and blanched. This was definitely not going according to plan.

"Where did you land?"

"I want to choose again." Regina's finger was already in the air and her gaze set on her preferred location when Emma scrunched up her face. "No way! That's cheating. Where did you land?"

"Tallahassee," the brunette grumbled, glaring at the southern city. She was sure she had at least landed on New Jersey.

"Tallahassee?" The blonde repeated surprised. "Florida?" She shrugged. "Are you up for it?"

"Do I have a choice?" Regina asked petulantly, folding the map back up with vindictiveness.

"Yes." Emma reached over and squeezed her knee. "Wanna go to New York?"

Regina stared out the window in mild resentment, but as soon as her finger dropped down on Florida State, her heart had sped up with both nerves and excitement. It was by no means closer, and Regina had no idea what was along the way or what was even in Tallahassee. They could always go to Miami if it proved dull—she caught herself. Well. She did enjoy a good intrigue. With a resigned sigh she turned away from the window and shook her head. "It's over a two-day drive though."

Beaming, Emma reached over to the console and plugged her phone back into the auxiliary cord, and in an instant the familiar bars of "Life is a Highway" came back on through the gritty speakers.

Regina rolled her eyes as Emma sang along in her best imitation Cochrane voice. She was going to delete that song if she had to before they reached Tallahassee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so the road trip begins!
> 
> Also, if you guys have a moment would you mind voting up Letters from War over on Inkitt at www(period)inkitt(period)com /stories /30228. It's entered in a Fandom contest that ends tonight at midnight. If you haven't read it yet, it's free to read over there as well!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer in Chapter One
> 
> AN: Because last night's episode was so extra SwanQueeny and full of awesome Mama Bear and Swan-Mills Family moments, another chapter to the awesome SWEN!

" _Life is a highway! I want to ride it all night long! If you're going my way, I want to drive it all night long!_ "

" _Give me, give me, give me, give me, yeah!_ "

" _Life is a highway! I want to ride it all night long!_ "

" _Ye-ah, yeah, yeah!_ "

Perhaps the song wasn't absolutely terrible, Regina grinned as she helped Emma finish the song. On its seventh rotation, Regina begrudgingly tapped out the beat on her thigh, angrily giving Emma the silent treatment for messing up their plans, and by its tenth play, Regina and Emma were having their own mini car-eoke session, as the blonde had dubbed it.

It grew on her to say the least.

They grinned and laughed with each other as the next song faded in. Now that they had been driving for eight hours straight, both their stomachs were in desperate need of sustenance.

"Do you think they've got good burgers in Delaware?"

"Must we get a burger?"

"It's road trip food. Yes, Regina. We must get a burger."

Emma took the next exit that looked promising for food and a gas station. Perhaps once they had gotten some dinner into their systems, Regina could take over the wheel. Emma had been driving since they left Storybrooke. Falling asleep and being angry at Emma didn't really give the blonde much choice but to drive. Despite the evening hour the sun was still bright and shining. It probably was going to stay that way until 9, maybe even past that. Regina could take over the night shift driving after they ate.

They drove through a small downtown core full of mom and pop shops before following the sides into a gas station and roadside diner. Emma parked beside a pump and killed the engine. She got out, the gravel crunching beneath her chucks, and stretched her arms and legs languidly. Regina got out and looked over the bug, catching Emma's smile before meeting her friend around the front.

"I'll get gas, you grab a table?" Emma asked.

Regina eyed the diner skeptically. Granny's. It sounded more like a bakery than a diner. From the trailers, trucks, and motorcycles parked outside the lot, she reckoned this place didn't serve up the finest Italian cuisine. It was a small thing with glass windows revealing the inside, and from her spot she could tell from the regulars that this place was probably a landmark to whatever small town they were in. She sighed. Perhaps it'd be one of those hidden gems she'd watched in all her cooking shows.

Nodding to Emma, Regina raised her sunglasses into her hair and strode toward the entrance. Her flip flops were thin against the gravel, but she was thankful that the mosquitoes weren't out yet to feast on her bare legs. A bell dinged above her when she opened the door and stepped into what felt like a 70's diner, complete with checkered linoleum and a jukebox in the back. This place certainly was not marked on her map.

* * *

"Can I just say this is the best grilled cheese I've ever had?" Emma groaned, tossing the final ketchup-doused slice into her mouth. "Can we get another one to go?"

"I don't want the car to smell like fast food."

"It's not fast, it's comfort. It was so good!"

Regina cleaned off her salad, washing it down with juice. "I admit, I was shocked to see they have a decent kale salad on the menu."

"We've gotta stop back here on our way home."

"How is everything?" Ruby, the leggy brunette waitress who had greeted Regina at the door, asked brightly.

"Amazing."

"Delightful, thank you." Regina helped her stack the utensils.

"So are you two ladies just passing through?" She asked clearing away their plates into her bin.

"We're on a road trip," Emma filled in, leaning back in her chair with a satisfied stretch. "We're taking this one to Tallahassee."

"Wow, that's quite the trip. Anniversary?"

"No, just the trip," Regina answered, undeterred by the waitress's assumption. It wouldn't be the first time someone made a comment about their friendship, though she was surprised it still happened outside Storybrooke. "We were supposed to go to New York, but  _someone_  refused to exit."

"She says like she hasn't enjoyed the ride so far," Emma narrated with a roll of her eyes.

"Well if you guys find yourself in South Carolina by the end of the week, be sure to check out the festival just outside Charleston."

"A festival?" Emma asked curiously, looking to Regina for confirmation. The blonde rolled a shoulder in intrigue. "What kind?"

"It's my girlfriend's hometown, they have this heritage festival that's essentially a county fair," Ruby filled in. She placed the bin of dirty dishes on the free table behind her before reaching into her apron and grabbing a pen and her notepad. "They have rides, all you can eat contests, petting zoos, vendors. It's really fun."

She ripped the page with the town and address and handed it to Regina. "It should be a nice stop on your road trip if you're interested."

"Well Emma's eyes lit up at the all you can eat contests, so perhaps we'll make our way down there and she'll get herself a crown for eating twinkies." Regina folded the napkin and slipped it into her purse.

"Twinkies at a festival?" Emma scoffed. "You know it's gonna be pies or hot dogs or corn. I could easily put that away."

"Where exactly do you put it?"

Emma didn't hesitate to lean over and smack one of her ass cheeks with a wink. Regina scoffed but did little to hide her laughter.

Ruby grinned and picked up the bin once more. "I know you guys might be stuffed, but we do have room for one last piece of apple pie. It's my grandma's secret recipe. You could take it for your long drive."

Regina, usually quick to decline dessert, contemplated it. She did love apples. Emma, however, fixed her with her best puppy dog eyes as if she needed permission to have dessert, and that sealed the deal. "Could you pack it up for us please?"

"You bet." With a grin, Ruby sauntered off, her hips swaying with every strut.

"You're the best," Emma grinned, leaning back in her seat and rubbing her belly. "Ruby said there was a motel down the street if we want to spend the night."

"Or do you just want to do that because you happened to see their breakfast menu?" Regina quipped, sipping her coffee.

"Hey, I saw you fawning over their eggs benny," the blonde accused with her coffee spoon.

"I was thinking I could drive for the duration," she offered. "You can sleep and we won't waste twelve hours."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

* * *

Whatever backwater town they were in wasn't necessarily large. Given the relatively late evening hour on the Wednesday night, it was surprising that there were so many people still milling about in the small commercial core they had to drive through to get back to the highway. By so many people, it really involved about six cars, but they were all lined up behind Regina as she struggled to get the clutch under control. A cacophony of horns and loud curses were thrown her way from impatient cars behind her, and Regina's first reaction wasn't to ease the beetle quickly into second gear without any stalling. No, instead, she growled and rolled down her window and yelled right back.

"Then go around!"

"Regina," Emma hesitantly called, slowly descending into the passenger seat with each stall and horn honk.

" _Gilipollas._ " Regina pulled herself back in and tried the gears again.

"You have to feel it," Emma coached. "Step on the clutch, shift into gear, and then ease up the speed slowly releasing the clutch. It'll go smoothly."

"I am!" The car jerked forward twice making them jump in their seat as Regina alternated between pressing on clutch and brake.

A horn blared behind them as a man in a pickup truck held his hand down over it. She growled at the whining noise, and when he moved over into the cleared oncoming lane and yelled "learn to drive, lady!" Regina flipped him the bird.

The sun was setting, and as reckless as she could be, Emma valued her life. She had total faith in Regina and her driving abilities, but driving stick in the dark? Not so much. "O-kay, maybe I should drive," Emma suggested tentatively.

"No." Slowly she got the car moving, though it was obvious she was playing between the gas, the clutch, and the brake. Every few meters the bug would sputter and stall, jerking them in the car.

The traffic behind Regina was getting irritated and by the sounds of the horns and the curses, it felt like they had made it to New York City rather than some backwater town.

"Regina," Emma said exasperated, "I taught you how to drive standard. What the hell? Accelerate on the gas, give it the clutch, shift the gear, and as you release the clutch add the gas."

"I was eighteen, Emma. Do you think I remember any of those lessons?" She snapped.

She willed those lessons to the forefront of her mind, however, and struggled to remember how she had done it as a teenager. She remembered jerking and cursing a lot, even when she had the hang of it. Still, she could get past only second gear. Gritting her teeth, Regina managed to smoothly pull into traffic, leading the pack of angry cars behind her and making it out of the town and onto the backroad toward the interstate.

"See?" The need to stick out her tongue was strong, but she refrained. "I can drive your death trap."

"Don't worry, Lucy," Emma whispered to the dash. "She didn't mean it."

Regina rolled her eyes and began to relax. If she stayed at this speed, maybe she wouldn't have to ease into the next gear. "Might as well sleep, Emma. I'll wake you when we get to Virginia."

The blonde nodded and proceeded to shuck off her chucks and socks, stretching her legs on the dash. "Don't eat all the pie while I'm sleeping."

Regina turned to make a remark about Emma and her stomach when the blonde sat up, eyes wide and fearful. "Regina, look out!"

A wolf had trotted out onto the road, and Regina turned just in time to avoid missing it. Her feet were desperately trying to push down on both clutch and brake, but all that served to do was make her swerve out of control. The wolf sprinted off at the sight of the metal box, but Regina and Emma weren't so lucky. The tire had skidded off the dirt road and caught in a ditch. Luckily the impact was minimal, but the harsh movement and the unforgiving boulders popped the front wheel.

Both women sat stunned. The styrofoam container housing the pie had toppled to the ground, and Regina's cell phone was dangling from the auxiliary cord. There wasn't smoke from under the hood, and there had been no casualties or injuries. As the sun cast a low orange glow behind them, the only sound that permeated the silence was…snickering?

Regina turned to see Emma covering her mouth with both hands, doing her best to reign in her laughter.

"I'm sorry?" Regina asked confusedly.

The blonde shook her head, words unable to form as she laughed harder into her hands.

"How is this funny to you?"

She briefly composed herself, exhaling deeply to get her breathing under control. "When you road trip, you go all out, don't you?"

Regina couldn't respond before Emma pulled out her phone and snapped a quick picture of Regina. "For the memories!" She exclaimed and hopped out of the car to examine the damage.

* * *

The motel Ruby had mentioned was far from accommodating as the diner had been. Not that the staff wasn't nice nor was it by any means full, it just resembled something Regina imagined she would die in if she was kidnapped and held for ransom by a cannibalistic sociopath. By the time they got a tow truck out to them and made it up to the motel, they both looked at each other, arms and backs laden with their belongings and trepidation written all over their faces.

The motel was one storey with what looked to be no more than ten rooms. Like the roadside diner and gas station, the Sunshine Inn, as the sign boasted, was also seated heavily on top of a gravel lot. The neon sign hung high above them was of a ridiculously orange sun on the horizon as it flashed in and out in welcome. The vacancy sign underneath had more burnt out letters than it didn't, leaving only a vague representation of "ancy" in its place, and that was sure as hell how the women felt. Nervous with just the tiny bit of fear. Appearing as a victim in an America's Most Wanted section was not a number one she wanted to scrape from her bucket list.

A Lexus was parked outside the room, and judging by the drawn blinds and do not disturb sign on the door, it looked like an illicit affair was going on in room number three. Down the end at room ten was a family van hailing all the way from Ohio, and even from her distance, Regina could hear the screaming match happening between a parent and their child. Regina wouldn't call herself high maintenance, but she had her standards after all.

"It looks like it has bed bugs," she whispered wrinkling her nose.

"Bed begs? It looks like Bates Motel," Emma hissed, adjusting her duffel on her shoulder.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"I'm the one freaking out."

"We can't both be freaking out."

"Can I help you?"

The women shrieked and nearly jumped into one another. Emma had grabbed Regina's hand when the brunette dropped the handle of her luggage, and Regina was pulling them back from whatever lurker was behind them.

A thin man, old but spry with a pointed nose, beady eyes, and a newspaper boy cap that he tipped in greeting stepped forward. They inched back. "Two beautiful ladies looking for room, yes?"

His accent sounded Eastern European, like some tiny country beside Croatia neither Emma nor Regina could place.

They looked at one other hesitantly, silently communicating their course of action. The car wouldn't be ready until mid-morning at the earliest, and it was already touching eleven at night. They needed a place to sleep, or at least stay for the night, and quite honestly the back of the bug was looking quite homey. Maybe Ruby would let them crash in the diner if they washed a few dishes. This place gave Regina the chills, and Emma kept eyeing the old man like he was about to pull out chloroform from his back pocket.

"Come, come." He insisted, already dropping down to pick up Regina's discarded luggage. "I give you good deal and beautiful room."

"Emma. Emma, he took my bag," Regina whispered, tugging on the hem of the girl's tank top. For an old man, he sure was quick pulling away her giant luggage.

"Go get it." The blonde gently pushed her forward.

"You get it."

"It's your bag."

"If I die—"

"I'll water your plants as your ghost nags me." She tugged on Regina's belt loop when the brunette refused to move.

Regina turned suddenly and gripped Emma's collar, a mixture of fear and determination in her eyes. "If you get it, I'll let you draw me naked."

The mental image burned itself into Emma's mind as her mouth parted in surprise. Over the years, the sight of Regina's naked body as they changed hastily in rooms wasn't loss on the blonde, but Regina was giving implicit permission. Or so she thought. "You lie."

" _Emma._ "

The blonde pushed her forward with a derisive snort. "I'll believe it when you strip. Come on, what's the worst that can happen here?"

"That's what everyone says before they get murdered." Regina grumbled. She adjusted her purse on her shoulder and had a firm grip on her guitar case as she begrudgingly followed her friend. She caught up with her in three strides and whispered in her ear. "I bet you there are cameras in the room."

"Maybe if we give him a good show he won't kill us." She smiled when the man stopped outside his office door with a big grin on his face, his mouth more gummy than toothy, and ushered them inside.

His office wasn't that much better than the outside itself. No bigger than a six by six cube, a partition acted as his desk with a rusty old cash register that probably didn't see much use. Music played from an old radio in a foreign language on the table behind the partition, and on the wall there was a cork board that held the keys to the ten rooms, save for two vacant spots. Regina winced, briefly wondering if they were going to end up next to the illicit affair room with moaning going on all night or near the family vacation where no doubt the teenager they had with them would be sneaking out and boosting their parents' car. The old man contemplated which key to give them before finally settling on number 7. She supposed that was acceptable.

"Come, come. I have perfect room." He smiled and shooed them out the door, but before he could grab Regina's luggage, Emma picked it up and wheeled it behind them.

He walked them down to the seventh room, both woman smirking at each other when they heard bed springs creak from room three, and unlocked it for them, waiting for them to step inside. With a wary glance to Emma, Regina stepped into the door and found the room...adequate. It was no five star hotel, that was for sure, but the air was musky as if this was the first time the door had ever been opened. It smelled like stale mothballs and cleaning supplies. The lone double bed looked like a slab of wood against a tapestry bedspread. When the man turned the bedside lamp on, the incandescent light didn't make the room much better. The walls held up with tacky wallpaper didn't appear to hide a secret camera, but Regina made a mental note to investigate the cherubs painting above the TV.

"Nice bed. Very comfy and good for rest," the old man said patting the bedding, oblivious to the dust escaping there before dashing off to the TV to turn it on. "And many, many channels for you to enjoy."

He turned the dial as three channels flipped until it rotated back to the news. He scurried to the washroom and turned on the light, turning the taps of the sink and the shower on and flushing the toilet, just to prove that everything worked. When he stepped out with a big grin on his face and his hands clasped behind his back, he asked, "You like, yes?"

"Yes," Emma nodded and eyed the door. "It's very nice."

He tipped his hat and hurried to the door, but Emma managed to catch him and slip a tip into his hand. "Beautiful lady is very kind. I be back in the morning for the coffee and the cereal, yes?"

"Bright and early." She shut the door after him and locked it. "I don't think he'll kill us."

Regina had already settled her things by the foot of the bed and moved to inspect the cherubs painting. "I suppose so. I still think this place has bedbugs."

Her fingers came over the eyes of each cherub carefully, finding no slits or anything within the tapestry or the frame itself. That was a plus. At least she wouldn't find herself on some pornography site. Those hidden camera videos were just vile.

"We'll lay day some towels," Emma suggested, already shaking out the stiff comforter. It clearly wasn't well-used, but it looked clean. Enough. "The sooner we go to sleep, the sooner we wake up and get back on the road."

Regina nodded and opened her suitcase to retrieve her nightwear and toiletries. Stepping into the washroom and leaving the door open, because like hell she was going to lock herself in there when the window above the toilet looked large enough for a spry old man to come through, she began to strip out of her shorts and tank top. Her silk pyjama tank came on next followed by her silk pants. She removed her bra deftly and left it on the counter when Emma came in, squeezing beside her to wash her face.

Silently they brushed their teeth, Regina prepping the blonde's toothbrush when she went to use the toilet and then washing her face free of make-up herself. By the time Emma's shorts and bra were off, they were lying on towels in the bed, the comforter resting at their waist because both women, admitted blanket thieves, refused to pull it up to their chin.

The day had been long and exhausting. Even with Regina's midday nap, the act of the journey had her beat, but sleep didn't come easily for her. Not when she was hyper aware of every stray car driving by, the slight moan coming from the room four doors down, and—oh there was that teenager stealing the family van. Despite her fears of this unknown place, she calmed when Emma yawned loudly, murmured a good night, and settled in on her side, wrapping an arm around Regina's waist and pulling her in like a teddy bear.

Emma was a cuddler, despite her insistence that she was not. The many sleepovers they had shared over the years never changed how much Emma needed something to hug at night, be it a pillow or a body. Regina found herself more refreshed on the nights that Emma stayed in her bed, and she attributed it to the fact that Emma was a security, and so so warm. As soon as Emma's head tickled Regina's shoulder, the brunette relaxed with a deep exhale and pulled her best friend's arms tighter around her, succumbing to sleep herself.

* * *

Regina had briefly awoken when Emma grumbled into her shoulder and stretched languidly an hour after dawn. She muttered a good morning before slipping out of bed. Regina always considered herself a morning person but without the need for her alarm to wake her at precisely 6 AM, she felt content to just lay in bed, settling into the warmth left in Emma's wake. She was vaguely aware of the faucet being run and the toilet flushing, and when Emma bent down to whisper that she was going for a run and to find breakfast, Regina nodded and turned back around, hugging Emma's vacated pillow to her chest.

It didn't take much for Regina to finally slip out of bed fifteen minutes later. The warmth was gone and the pillows were scratchy, and she really wanted to be alert should the motel owner return with the coffee and the cereal before Emma did. She supposed it wasn't a terrible sleep, but then she stretched and her back cracked in places she didn't know existed and she winced, mentally booking an appointment with a chiropractor upon their return. Making the bed quickly, Regina went about her morning ritual. She skipped the hot shower because quite honestly she didn't trust the fact there may or may not be cameras there, but she brushed her teeth and washed her face. Her make-up came next: carefully applied foundation, light blush, dark eyeliner, and a deep red lipstick. She didn't set out her clothes the night before, but they still had quite the drive to go, so she shed her sleepwear and stepped into the shorts from the day before and donned a fresh t-shirt.

Then she was stuck.

Emma's runs could go anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour, but they were in an unfamiliar town, so she was really hoping it was leaning toward the former. The television didn't hold anything to her intrigue, and she had no idea where Emma had gone to even think about meeting her anywhere. Now was a good a time as any to practice her lessons. Pulling her hair back into a claw, Regina moved to retrieve her guitar case at the foot of the bed. Emma's backpack toppled over in the process, spilling out some art pencils and her sketch books. Loose leafs stuck out of one of the books, and Regina knelt to the ground to pick them up.

Her friend always had such a knack for drawing. In fact, her place on their high school track team was a result of the track coach catching Emma tagging the side of the school, and when the girl ran for her life, he had been too amazed by her speed to consider suspending her. She grinned when the first few pages sported doodles: flowers, abstract shapes, perfecting the left eye. The following pages proved similar until she got to a few hand-drawn comic panels boasting Emma's  _The Saviour_  comic.

She browsed through the book, guitar forgotten, as The Saviour's origin story had come to life from the pages. The Saviour, also known Malinda Morgan, had just lost an innocent at the expense of saving a train full of people, and so began her existential crisis of being a hero with far too much power. But when Regina turned the page, she was met with more doodles. Her nose wrinkled in confusion as she continued to flip, finding the odd portrait of her own face staring back at her, eager to find out how The Saviour dealt with her first death. The last she read was when Anastasia Dupoint, a reporter of CKNY2 News whose station was infamous for bringing down the glory of superheroes and turning them into a vigilante mess, happened to catch Malinda on the street for a citizen interview. Anastasia had asked Malinda what she thought of The Saviour, and when the hero in disguise answered in the affirmative, the reporter tore into her, spewing facts of the lives loss in the carnage all for the sake of good. Malinda didn't have a chance to answer, either flummoxed or Emma simply got writer's block, but Regina was eager to know what would have been running through the super's head.

Finally more panels came into view, but she didn't find Malinda Morgan or her alter-ego. The cover page was a Thelma and Louise style car jump over a not nearly impressive ditch.

"That's a new one I'm working on."

Regina nearly jumped. She hadn't heard the key turn or Emma walk in, but when the blonde, smelling of sweat and just a bit of sun, plopped two coffee cups and a bag on the table, Regina was thankful for the breakfast and small scare. She glanced down at the cover panel once more, noticing a striking resemblance to the driver with long wiry hair and the passenger with cropped hair and aviators. "Oh really? And when did you start this?"

"They're really loud in room three," Emma argued, taking a large sip of coffee. "Like porn star loud, and I woke up a little bit and was moved to draw."

"Because of people having sex?" Regina inquired with a quirk of her lips.

"Yes, their less than stellar orgasms made me want to draw  _Rocky Road,"_  the blonde deadpanned.

"Cute title."

"Thanks." Emma leaned over Regina's shoulder and pointed out the drawn characters in the car. "It's about their misadventures as they do a cross-country road trip."

"I wonder where that idea came from," Regina quipped before pointing to the cropped hair aviator woman. "She's Latina, isn't she?"

"All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental," the blonde answered in a practised voice before turning back to the table. "I got you the eggs benny from Granny's, and I stopped by the mechanic. They said our car will be fixed in a couple hours."

Regina nodded her thanks, and the two ate in companionable silence. Their breakfast was only momentarily interrupted when the old man seemed to kick at the door. It wasn't until Regina opened it did they realize that he held two full steaming cups of coffee in his hands. In a show of grace, he placed them down on the table, frowning when he saw their breakfast set up before pulling from his pocket to-go milk and sugar packets. The blonde held her tongue when she realized they were the same ones Granny used. No doubt the old man pilfered them for his own use.

When Emma received the call that Lucy was ready for pick up, Regina accompanied her for the mile walk down the road to the garage. "Why don't you organize your sketchbook?"

"You can't control the muse."

"Perhaps, but you can teach the muse that  _The Saviour_  goes at the front of the book, and  _Rocky Road_ goes in the back. How will you compile them all together once they're completed?"

"I'll find all the pages," Emma reasoned. "I'll pull them out and then have them all out on the floor where I can see how best to put the storyline together."

"And if both comics reside on the same page?"

The blonde opened her mouth to answer but shut it in contemplation. "I...did not think of that."

Regina smirked wryly as they stepped onto the garage lot. She paid the mechanic for his fees, ignoring Emma when she said she got it, but when the blonde circled around the car to inspect it of any new damages, Regina bit her lip shyly. "Could I...drive once more?"

Emma stopped and looked almost hesitant. "Are you sure?"

"I need a refresher course. Perhaps we can practise when we get back to our room?"

The blonde eased and unlocked her door, stretching over to pull the lock on Regina's. "Of course. But I can drive the whole trip, it's not a problem."

"It's a two-day journey at best, Emma," Regina pointed out as she slid in. "If we split the driving we could make it to Tallahassee sooner."

* * *

" _I want you to want me. I need you to need me. I'd love you to love me._ " Emma tapped out a beat as she continued drumming along in the passenger seat. " _I'll shine up the old brown shoes. Put on a brand new shirt._ "

" _I'll get home early from work if you say that you love me_ ," Regina sang along with her. It was difficult not to join Emma when the blonde made a performance out of every song that came out of the radio. As the song drew to a close, she reached over and lowered the volume as the next song filtered in.

"You're getting it," Emma beamed as Regina smoothly pulled into third gear. They had spent a couple hours, just driving around the motel parking lot and along the unoccupied road around it as Regina relearned how to drive stick. The brunette held down the clutch, shifted into fourth, and slowly released the clutch little by little while stepping on the gas until they were hitting highway speed. "You're doing great actually."

"You sound surprised."

"Well I was legitimately scared one of the guys from last night was going to take out a shotgun and shoot us for holding up traffic."

"Nonsense, if anyone pulled out a gun on you, they'd have to get through me."

"Thanks, Mama Bear," the blonde smirked. "Now take it back down and head to the motel."

Obediently, Regina slowed down, putting them into second as they approached the motel and eased into the gravel lot. Perhaps they had killed half a day getting Regina reacquainted with the standard car, but it was worth it. She stalled only once as she attempted to park outside their room, but it was good enough. A couple more hours of that, and she'd be an old pro.

"We'll check out and get back on the road?"

Regina nodded, but before Emma could unbuckle and slip out of the car, Regina grabbed her wrist and caught her eye insistently. She smiled. "Thank you."

The blonde returned the sentiment, her eyes twinkling with mirth. "It's just driving stick."

"For being patient with me," explained the brunette, reaching out to cup Emma's cheek. "I know I haven't made this trip easy so far, and you're just trying to help."

The blonde grinned and shifted to interlock her fingers with Regina's, smiling with her eyes. "Anytime."


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer in Chapter One.
> 
> AN: I'm heading to Florida for a week and hitting up HP world(!) so I wanted to get this to you guys before I go without internet. If anyone has any must-sees/eats in the Orlando area, let me know!
> 
> AN2: I also got a Twitter, so feel free to say hi to me at hunnyfresh :)

Emma rolled her eyes as she huffed into the phone. Her mom had called to check in and see how New York was, but in their impromptu detour, Emma neglected to tell her they were heading elsewhere. She may be thirty-five, but her mother had a way of making people feel bad regardless of their age, and in that moment, Emma felt like she was caught sneaking out. Her father was usually the one to ground her, her mother being the lenient of the two, but when Mary Margaret thought your behavior was frowned upon, you felt it. With a sheepish nudge to Regina, who had gotten the hang of driving stick, she frowned begrudgingly. "My mom says I have to apologize for making us go somewhere else. And for littering when I threw the itinerary out the window."

Regina snorted and raised a curious eyebrow, tapping her finger on the wheel as she waited expectedly.

"So I'm sorry for making us go somewhere else," Emma said obediently. "And for littering. There, Mom. Okay. Yeah. You too." She hung up and turned to face Regina. "My mom says to drive safely and to stay under the speed limit and that she loves you."

With a coy smirk, Regina revved the engine and sped up a few miles. "Are you going to tell on me now?"

"She probably already knows and will ground you when we get back." Stretching back, Emma toed off her chucks and socks and relaxed with her feet up on the dash.

"Can you not do that please?" Regina asked with a wrinkle of her nose.

"It's a long drive until Virginia." She pulled a baseball cap low on her forehead. "It's not like my feet stink."

"That's what you think," Regina muttered. "If we get into an accident, you will break both legs."

"Then don't get into an accident."

"As if it would be my fault."

Emma lifted the cap to stare intently at Regina until the brunette rolled her eyes muttering incoherently. The younger woman smirked and pulled her hat down low again, putting her earphones in and blasting her music through her phone.

Regina had driven as far as Richmond the night before, getting them to a better but just as tacky motel as the Sunshine Inn. Woody's was its name, and if it didn't feel like a rodeo, the vintage wood paneling, bull horns on their room wall, and horse wallpaper was even too much for the equestrian lover. Emma had driven that morning, her road trip playlist serenading with all the windows rolled down, before they stopped in Newport for a late lunch. Now that they were making their way through the state, Regina had free reign of the stereo and used Emma's nap time to play her Spanish audio files. She was on the third level already and had even begun mentally translating everything in her head as practice.

" _Buenos dias! ¿Habla usted Español?_ " The teacher, male this time, asked her in an accented voice.

"Si. Hablo Español," Regina responded studiously.

" _Mucho gusto. ¿Cómo te llamas?_ "

"Me llamo Regina."

" _Hola! Me llamo Joaquin. Soy el maestro de hoy_."

Before Regina could greet Joaquin hello, Emma's music changed and the song blared clearly in the car. She glared at her friend, annoyed and unnerved that she could listen to music that loudly and not have her eardrums pop. Ignoring it proved to be futile because she could make out the Def Leppard song clearly. Rock of Ages, no doubt. Regina turned up the volume to Joaquin, though the tinny electric guitar and drums lingered in the background, as they conversed, asking each other of their day and inquiring about the location of the hospital. She was about to answer Joaquin's question of "Would you like a drink?" before a familiar beat filtered through the air that made Regina grip the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white.

She was going to delete that stupid song.

Even over her lessons, Regina could hear Tom Cochrane sing "Life is a Highway." Emma didn't have the best speakers, so even at the volume's capacity could she still make out the constant upbeat and much too happy and excited nature of the song. She tried her best to ignore it, missing Joaquin's cue when he asked if she was American, but the chorus came on and her brain seemed to be in tune with the song even at its most muffled. She pressed the stereo off with more force than necessary and admitted defeat. Fine, the song could play on. What did she care? If Emma wanted to go deaf so be it. That was a thought. Regina would have to learn sign language. ASL could be another thing to hit off her list and maybe even Mandarin. That was going to be a universal language someday.

_Through all these cities and all these towns. It's in my blood and it's all around._

"I love you now like I loved you then," Regina sang quietly in a hushed voice. "This is the road and these are the hands." Then again if Emma did blow out her ear drums she could be something akin to Beethoven. Drawing what she can hear based on vibrations. Emma would love that. Have her create a comic on that.

_There's no load I can't hold. Road so rough this I know._

"I'll be there when the lights come in. Just tell 'em we're survivors."

Regina didn't even notice she was getting ready to belt the chorus, her fingers already tapping on the wheel in rhythm, until her phone began to vibrate and she exhaled abruptly, startled at the noise. She picked up her phone, cautious of the traffic ahead of her, and frowned when she saw the hospital calling. Her heart jumped in realization.

Her results were finally in. She nearly forgot about them in the excitement of their trip, but seeing Dr. Whale's name on her screen sent butterflies through her stomach. She and Emma had made a pact, yes, but there was no harm in confirmation.

A signal was surely needed as she veered into the right lane, determined to take the next available exit and answer the call. The maneuver jerked the car suddenly, and Regina almost forgot she was driving a standard until she managed to prevent the car from stalling on the interstate. However, it made Emma jump awake and the car behind them honk furiously.

"What's wrong?" Emma mumbled, pulling the earbuds from her ears and wiping her mouth dry.

"I need to pull over for a second."

"Why? Are you okay?"

Regina didn't answer. She took the closest ramp off the highway and pulled into the parking lot of a franchise supermarket. She grabbed her phone from the auxiliary and began thumbing through the icons.

"Regina, what's wrong?" Emma asked worriedly.

"Shhh." Regina dialled her voicemail, rolling her eyes at the message from Dr. Whale letting her know that she should call him back as soon as possible but providing no indication of the news. She dialled his number, and she managed to get through to him still at his desk.

"Regina," he greeted. "Thank you for getting back to me so quickly."

"Of course, Dr. Whale, what was it that you needed?"

"Dr. Whale?" Emma hissed, her eyebrows rising. "What's wrong? Are you sick?"

The brunette hushed her friend once more and pressed a finger to her free ear to block her out.

"Regina, I have some news for you that would best be shared in person."

"I'm afraid I'm out of the state. Your message indicated that I could give you a call. What was wrong with my tests?" She demanded.

"What tests?" The blonde hissed again.

" _Emma_."

He sighed heavily and continued on his explanation.

* * *

Regina loved the beach. She and Emma used to spend hours sitting on the edge of the pier in Storybrooke after her horse riding lessons. Their feet bare and their pants rolled up to their knees would hang over the boardwalk as the rushing waves tickled their toes. Though she was more familiar with the salty ocean air laden heavily with fish and seaweed, the sound of waves crashing always washed a sense of serenity over the brunette.

Sitting on a bench on a grassy knoll along the shoreline of Virginia Beach, Regina couldn't hear anything.

Emma had switched places, taking over driving when Regina was too paralyzed to comprehend anything other than Dr. Whale's words in her head.

_A hostile uterus._

What a term. It wasn't simply infertile or barren, no, her body saw the potential of a baby growing inside her and attacked like it was some virus waging war. The one thing she was supposed to be able to do just by sheer luck of her DNA and she couldn't even do it.

Her eyes watered once more as she clutched the guitar to her chest. She vaguely remembered Emma's tentative hand on her shoulder when she hung up the call, cautiously asking if she was all right when she knew for sure she wasn't. Regina broke then, sobbing furiously into her best friend's neck in the middle of a grocery store parking lot.

She withdrew a shaky breath and let her fingers scrape gently down the strings, lost in the chaos of the beach goers.

They were probably in that long parking lot for a while before Emma had gotten Regina into the passenger seat and took the detour toward the beach. It was loud and crowded, and seagulls cawed hoping for a sample of dropped food, and more than anything Regina was lost in it. With nothing more than their cooler, Regina's guitar, and Emma and her sketch books, they staked out underneath a tree and sat. The blonde had said nothing, letting Regina stare at her open guitar case should she want it, and when Regina reached and draped it over her shoulder half an hour later, Emma smiled softly.

She strummed again as her eyes shut, feeling the wood vibrate against her palm.

This just wasn't fair. Regina was a planner and extremely meticulous. Whenever something didn't go precisely as she envisioned, it was more often than not a factor beyond her control. A client was stalling, her tire had deflated, Emma thought she said ice cream instead of iced tea. The chance that she was the cause, her body rejecting her, hadn't even crossed Regina's mind when she woke up that fateful morning, determined to speak Spanish, play guitar, and have a baby. Her biological clock was ticking, and she knew the risks of having a later pregnancy, but she had no idea that her body was already fighting against her on that long before the seed was planted in her head. Endometriosis tissue had blocked, damaged, or scarred her fallopian tubes, she wasn't a hundred percent sure which, but Dr. Whale said with surgery, they'd be able to clear it. Though the risk of miscarriage was extremely high, she could still go ahead with the sperm donor if she so wished. She didn't need to see the doctor to know he was heavily implying against it.

Her voice, normally confident and sure, shook when she exhaled a heavy breath as he repeated his words in her head with scorn.

"Regina?" The tentative call of Emma was lost as her own voice pounded inside her ears. Emma had put down the sketchbook and gently took the brunette's head in her hands.

That child she was planning for, the one whose room she already had mapped out, had already picked out the colours and found the perfect bassinet for, that child didn't even have a chance. She didn't even have a chance at being a mother. Emma had said to wait; they made a pact.

It wasn't fair.

* * *

She let Emma hold her again, grounding herself in the only familiarity that the new state brought. The wet spot on the blonde's shoulder surely came from Regina's tears as the brunette hid her face there, but Emma said nothing, just soothing whispers and stroking backs that everything was going to be okay, they'd deal with it together.

Emma may not have been the most graceful of people, her awkwardness endearing to all, but she certainly knew Regina well enough to know that she needed space in this sea of people. She didn't know how long she had remained silent from the end of the phone call to when she absent-mindedly began strumming her guitar, but the comfort she found against Emma's shoulder almost made the situation bearable.

Regina remained quiet, save for the hitch in her throat whenever she inhaled unsteadily or the slow wind of an exhale as she gathered her breath. Pulling herself back once more, she avoided Emma's worried eyes. The last thing she needed was to see her friend upset by her behaviour, so Regina focused on the instrument in her lap.

She had missed a couple of days from their continuous driving, but her fingers found the chords more easily in her blank state. The tune she played was no song or practiced chord progression; whatever came to mind, she played as she hummed softly along with it.

"You're getting really good at that," Emma noted, her eyes back on the drawing she sketched.

"Thank you." She eased into a song she had been practicing for weeks now, and she was pleased when Emma paused her sketching to look over at her in fascination.

"Tom Petty?"

She nodded and continued playing, her eyes closing as she focused on the notes. _A, D, D, A, E_. Repeat. Increase tempo. Sigh. She could feel Emma's eyes on her though she knew the blonde was trying her best to be inconspicuous. Sly as she might be whenever Emma was worried about her, Regina always knew. By the time the song came to a close, she inhaled deeply, letting the warm sun kiss her skin and sooth her thoughts before leaning back and glancing up at Emma. "I can't have children."

Green eyes widened in surprise.

"Older women have a higher miscarriage rate and their babies have a greater chance of being born with a deficiency. I was making sure I was good enough to carry a child." She shook her head sadly, the tears welling up behind partially closed lids. "Looks like I'm not."

"Oh my god." Regina flinched at the sound of her shocked voice before Emma put her book aside, gently grasped Regina's guitar and moved it out of the way, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She almost resisted the side hug, but her head found the blonde's sturdy shoulder and she shut her eyes in quiet mourning. "I—I'm so sorry."

Regina scoffed lightly. She wanted to say that Emma was right, that she really wouldn't have to worry about sperm donation and moving too quickly and not thinking straight, but her voice caught in her throat. She shook her head again but her eyes welled up all the same.

"Do you want to go home?"

She paused, briefly considering immediately booking an appointment with Dr. Whale to further go over her options, but it wasn't like she could drink some magic potion and all would be well. She shook her head, determinedly this time and sat up. "No."

"Regina, we can—"

"I'm fine." She pulled herself away from Emma and fixed the latch on her guitar. They had to get a move on if they wanted to get some distance in while it was still bright outside. "Let's get going."

She was striding past Emma and managed to make it a few feet away before the blonde jogged in front of her, halting her movement with her hands on her shoulders. "Hey, talk to me."

"I don't want to," she remained persistent, avoiding eye contact.

"Regina."

"Emma, please." Her tone was soft, pleading, begging her to drop it.

Green eyes searched desperately over brown as Emma's hands moved from Regina's shoulders to cup her cheeks, making their eyes lock in place. Emma's lips, usually set in a grin or a mischievous smirk, frowned back at her, and the last thing Regina wanted was her friend's pity. Her eyes slipped closed when Emma slowly grazed her thumbs across Regina's dampened cheeks, collecting the moisture there and wiping it dry. What she didn't expect, however, was for her lips to come down in its place, warm and soft against her cheeks as she peppered kisses across Regina's cheek, nose, and closed lids.

She gasped breathily, clutching tightly against Emma's tank to keep her grounded. The pecks, though unexpected, had a calming effect on her as she leaned in when Emma placed a final kiss against the side of her temple.

"What can I do?"

Regina's insides churned at the question. It was the same one Emma asked all those weeks back when Regina was worried she may have been depressed. Never before did she appreciate her best friend more until now. She shook her head, dropping her forehead down to Emma's shoulder and wrapping her arms around her waist. "You're already doing enough."

"But—" Emma began worriedly.

Regina reared back, placing a kiss on a pale cheek before squeezing her wrists reassuringly. "Later, I promise."

* * *

Though Emma was reluctant, she continued to let Regina drive after they stopped for a quick bite to eat. She even had Selena playing, hoping to coax Regina out of her inner thoughts with some music, but Regina continued concentrating on the road. The problem with Regina's driving zone was that she didn't realize how late it was getting until she felt her eyes start to droop. Emma stayed awake with her through it all, and when the brunette started to veer off to the side, the blonde reached out to squeeze her shoulder gently. She jerked herself awake, noting that it was almost touching midnight. They needed to find a place to sleep and quickly, and for once Emma wished she hadn't had made fun of Regina's itinerary because they could really use a motel right now.

The closest thing they could find was a camp ground just outside Virginia Beach. A convention was in town and all the local hotels and motels were booked to capacity, full of fans of some science fiction show, but a kind bell hop had suggested the camp ground five miles north that was as dirt cheap as the ground they'd be sleeping on.

Neither Regina nor Emma were campers. They hadn't even brought along supplies for a possible night in the woods. It'd be an adventure, Regina hoped, though the excitement wasn't in her voice. Our first camping trip, Emma grinned, nudging Regina but only receiving a resolved twitch of her lips. But when they pulled into the lot and found it still alive with college summer students, they were severely tempted to just pull into a McDonald's parking lot and wait until morning. It wasn't a terrible alternative, but at least here there was a decent shower system, and they were lucky enough to snag a lot close to the water and away from the party tent.

It was surreal, driving on the one-way dirt roads during the dead of the night in the middle of the woods. Their eyes strained for lot 143. Every so often they'd see a lot with a camp fire still blazing, people gathered around the flame with alcohol and marshmallows. Some lots had soft music playing despite the No Noise rule after 9, but they figured the owners of the campground were pretty lenient all things considering. Finally finding their lot to the left of a fork, Regina brought the car onto their space and killed the engine.

It was quiet. The partially rolled down windows seemed to amplify the crickets and grasshoppers that were chirping in the night. The other lots seemed to be enclosed by forest completely, but theirs, and what looked like four other campers, had the benefit of having clear open lake right in their backyard. The fellow campers' areas were dark, presumably sleeping in their tents and RV, but the light of the moon was enough to brighten up their path as they quietly exited the car to look around their home for the night.

"It's not bad," Emma whispered, inspecting the fire pit and the complementary bag of wood. "Maybe we can come back here one day."

Regina slapped at a mosquito on her arm and then one on her leg. "Mmm, maybe count me out on that one. Where are we supposed to sleep?"

"I have a blanket in my trunk." Emma was already moving to pop the hatch and retrieve a giant wool blanket that looked like something Mary Margaret made. "It's warm out. We can just lie."

"I think I'd rather sleep in the car," the brunette grumbled as Emma flicked the blanket out. Her arms were crossed and her eyes red and all she wanted to do was sulk in her misery.

The blonde was already settled on top of the blanket, her sandals kicked off as she lay with her hands behind her head. "You have to see this."

The last thing Regina wanted to do after a day like today was lie in the dirt and let the spiders and ants seek refuge in her hair, but Emma's concentration was held skyward, and offering no explanation; the brunette grumbled and heeded her call.

"What?" Regina walked over and stared down at Emma expectantly.

She pointed up at the sky and whispered. "The stars."

Regina looked up from her spot unimpressed. "We can see them more clearly in Storybrooke." She smacked at another mosquito.

"Yeah, but have you ever seen the stars from right here?" She patted the spot beside her.

Regina rolled her eyes. "If I'm going to be lying in the dirt, the least I can do is save my blood from being consumed from vampiric insects."

Emma's snort followed her as Regina returned to the bug and rummaged through her luggage in search of suitable night wear. She had no intention of wearing her silk pyjamas in the middle of the forest out in the open, and she'd be damned if she woke up with bug bites all over her legs. Grabbing a thin sweater from her luggage, she moved to Emma's duffel and stole a pair of sweat pants. She slipped them over her legs and zipped up her sweater before returning to the blanket where Emma lay with her eyes closed and a smile of contentment on her face. She kicked off her sandals and lay beside Emma, her arms demurely placed over her stomach at a loss of what to do with them.

Uncertainty gave way to silence. Complete utter silence. The quiet, in some instances, was a welcome relief to Regina. She could get work done or muse with her own thoughts, but this quiet was a peace and serenity she never had before. Storybrooke was by no means a busy town. It was a small hamlet by the coast that wasn't even on a map. It should have been the very definition of serenity. Instead, home had become a bubble, too small to do anything of value lest someone drive to a more bustling city. Out in these woods, though, the calm took over her, washing her free from any stress or monotony or bad news that touched her. The crickets chirped and the waves slowly lapped on the shore. The bugs were buzzing and if Regina strained her ears enough, she could hear the low thumping of the party tent. But it was awe-inspiring, lying on the dirt with her best friend sleeping under the stars.

She had never done anything like this before.

As draining as the day had been, sleep didn't come easily to Regina, but she found she didn't care. Less than an hour into their elaborate camp set up, Emma's breathing had evened out and she had curled inward toward Regina, lazily draping an arm around her middle. The brunette let her fall into a deeper sleep before carefully removing herself from Emma's hold and quietly walking to the car. She hoisted herself onto the hood and shut her eyes.

She couldn't remember the last time she had stayed up late. It was always bedtime at ten lest she get bags under her eyes. Even when she grabbed dinner with colleagues on rare occasions, she came home by 9:30 to have enough time to prep for the new day. Oh—her stomach dropped. The last time she stayed up was when dreams of having a child kept sleep at bay. She dug her toes into the earth before taking a calming breath. Then another. There was one more before she decided to walk quietly to the back of the car and release her guitar from its case. Propped against the hood once more, she adjusted the strap over her shoulder and let the familiar weight of the instrument rest against her. The dirt between her still bare toes should have made her squirm, but she felt more grounded than anything. Like she was part of the forest. It was so cliché it nearly made her cringe, but there that was.

One with the earth, Regina scoffed to herself. How poetic. She finds out she's incapable of giving life and here she was, going back to the soil from whence she came, mourning her sorrows through song. She strummed quietly so not to disturb their sleeping neighbours. If Dr. Hopper was there, he'd say this was good for her, coping in a healthy way that lets the mind grow. Regina wasn't sure if it was coping or just another momentary distraction but it was working. A little bit. That little boy in the muddy tux and never neat hair kept popping into her mind at the most inopportune times though. She strummed more confidently. God, she could have taught him how to play, him in her lap as her guitar was in front of them both. She'd raise him in both English and Spanish. He'd be bilingual like Daddy. He'd be smiling at her, holding up a bird that must have fallen from a tree and begging her to keep it as a pet. A watery smile came to her lips because had the child picked up any other animal, Emma would be kneeling right beside him, begging Regina to let them have it, but for whatever reason, the blonde was afraid of creatures like her namesake. Mary Margaret claimed it was because a seagull had stolen Emma's fries when the girl was three and never forgot about it, but she could see Emma, cowering behind Regina telling the muddy boy that he could have a dragon if he wanted if he just put that bird outside.  _Henry_. Regina decided. If she had a little boy, she would have named him Henry after her father. A tear slipped down her cheek.

"Hey." Her eyes opened when she saw Emma standing beside her, the giant blanket draped over her shoulders like a cape. "Did you want me to drive and find a motel along the way?"

Regina shook her head and patted the spot beside her. "I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

She glanced at her shyly from under her lashes. "What do you think of the name Henry?"

"Like your dad?" Regina nodded as the blonde sat. "It's old-fashioned, but I like it."

Regina wiped at her cheek and stared out onto the lake. "Me too."

The blonde shifted so that the blanket draped over both of their shoulders. Regina had to shuffle on the hood and rest her head against Emma's arm in order for it to cover both of them, but once they settled, the quiet returned once more.

"I like it here," Regina admitted as a fish splashed in the lake. "You're right, we should go camping."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend?"

Regina laughed softly and snuggled into Emma's warmth. "It's peaceful here."

"Yeah," she agreed before casting a soft smile on the brunette. "And beautiful."

"Our woods don't look like this."

"Because our town always smells like fish and worms." Emma looked out onto the water and mimicked Regina. Eyes closed, smile on her face, and not a care in the world. Suddenly she leaped off the car, the blanket falling into the empty space of her body, and opened the back door.

Regina strained her neck in curiosity. "What are you doing?"

Emma returned, her small art box and sketch book in her hands. She slid back onto the hood and raced to a blank page in her book.

Regina chuckled to herself. "You're drawing a lot more lately."

"The muse woke up," she answered with her tongue between her cheeks, her brows knit in concentration, and her pencil sketching across the page.

The brunette began the opening chords to Four Non Blondes, wincing when her fingering wasn't perfect, but it was good enough for the time being as she kept playing. "Let me guess. You're drawing  _Rocky Road_  as they sit on the hood of their car in front of a lake?"

The blonde bit her tongue in a grin and nudged Regina. "All characters appearing in that work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental."

The brunette laughed softly and let her draw, her music the only thing breaking the soft hush of the lake, before she dropped her head on pale shoulders to peek at the drawing. "I can't remember the last time you did landscape."

"Cayman Islands." The blonde didn't look up from her picture of the moon reflecting on the lake. "The third morning after we fell asleep on the back porch lounge chairs, and the sun was rising just above the beach."

"My goodness, that was nearly ten years ago." Emma nodded, her pencil halting slowly in quiet contemplation. It was just shades and lines so far, but Regina knew that come morning, it would be a soft, charcoal expression of what they were living now.

"What about your old boyfriend who took us on that whirlwind adventure on his boat?" Regina teased. "You weren't inspired to draw his true love, the ocean?"

Emma winced remembering the poor decision of a man she had dated for two months. "His boat was a kayak, and I hated the sea."

"Or your ex-girlfriend who took us to a motorcycle show." Regina brought up. "You two did go camping once."

"It was Lily, Regina, and her car broke down in the middle of the night. I get it," Emma held up a palm. "I date the unsavoury."

Regina laughed again, her chuckle deeper. Her shoulders relaxed, the tension starting to dissipate as she exhaled thoughtfully. "Did you think we'd ever get here?"

"Here, specifically?" The blonde shrugged and continued drawing. "I didn't think we'd be friends past high school."

"Why?" She was nearly aghast.

Emma's eyes shifted to the side, but her gaze was permanently set on the page. Regina couldn't imagine what her life would be like without Emma. She couldn't even fathom what the past twenty years would have been like let alone what a future without her would hold. The blonde pursed her lips before answering. "You can have it all, Regina," she whispered quietly. "The house, the marriage, the 2.5 kids—I mean—"

"I know," Regina said softly, pausing her strumming. "It's okay."

The silence crept up on them, and Emma paused her drawing to stare hesitantly at her.

"You would be weird Aunt Emma trying to make my children have your name as the first word they say," Regina finally whispered, gaining a chuckle from the blonde. She set her guitar aside and rubbed a palm on Emma's leg.

"I'd definitely be the cool aunt."

Regina didn't deny the claim and smirked to herself that she had guessed right. The large age gap between Emma and her brother had her friend as the cooler older sister more than anything. Their college years had been filled with babysitting Neal whenever the Swans were out, and even though Regina was the disciplinarian whenever both Swan siblings made a mess of the kitchen, Emma was the one able to get him to open up and confide in her about things like the bully at school or the girl he had a crush on. She couldn't help but think that Emma would make a great mother as well. "What do you think about adoption?"

"For you?"

"Did our pact suddenly become null and void because I'm—"

"No." Emma put her sketchbook down to give Regina her undivided attention. "I was kinda insinuating adoption actually, but if little Henry looked like you then I would have been putty."

Regina couldn't help the sad smile gracing her lips.

"I think adopting is better than having your own kid, to be honest," she continued. "There are lots of kids in the world who need good parents, and lots of kids in the world who didn't ask to be born but here they are without proper guidance."

She took Regina's hands in her own. "I know you really want a baby, Regina. You're amazing with kids. Why do you think you got all the babysitting gigs and I got all the lawn mowing?" She nudged her with her shoulder until the brunette looked up. "You don't have to be pregnant to be a mom."

"I know. I just feel like if I can't have a child, something I'm inherently meant to do, how am I supposed to do anything? Learn a language, or continue this damn road trip."

"It's something you  _can_ do. Not something you're meant to."

"But I can't do it."

"But it's not the only option you've got left," Emma implored.

Regina took a moment to stare out onto the lake. It seemed birthing a child seemed like the only feasible option when it was taken from her. "There's foster care too."

"Yeah," Emma agreed. "Lots of kids need some stability in their life. And who better than the Queen of Routine?"

Regina winced then scoffed. "What an awful title."

"It's slowly losing its edge. You almost slept on the ground tonight."

"I did."

Emma chuckled before she suddenly got shy. "But, you know, if you wanted," she stammered, "I could always…"

Regina took her hand and linked their fingers, resting her head against the side of Emma's. She nearly wanted to cry at what her friend was silently offering. Who did that? Who, in their right mind, would be willing to share their body for someone just because their friend was sad? Emma, of course. She was always like that. The Saviour may be a character in her comic, but Emma was one in her own right. The blonde was some kind of wonderful, and instead of happy tears, Regina bit her lip in a grin, pushing away the sudden image of a blonde little girl just as mischievous as Emma because going down that path was probably more hurt than she was ready to face. "You're right. Adoption and fostering are the better choice."

"We could still get those kids into sports and horseback riding," Emma enticed. "We'd have our hands full, but it sounds nice."

"We could even take in an older child," Regina mused, picturing Emma teaching any teenager that crossed their path how to drive stick. The blonde may think herself a great mentor, but her explaining skills could use a little work. Whatever child graced their life, be it biological, adopted, or fostered, Regina was realizing that Emma was a very big part of that. Her hands turned clammy, and she wanted to pull away before the blonde noticed, but the warmth was just too nice to consider.

"Hey." Emma squeezed. "What's wrong? Where'd you go there?"

If Regina was being honest with herself, she was determined to figure out why she was very aware of her hand in Emma's hold. They had done it before, hell, they cuddled in bed, but the familiar flutter she felt hours earlier when they were leaving Virginia Beach struck up again, and Regina found herself asking, "Why did you kiss me?"

"What?"

"Today, when I was upset and didn't want to talk," the brunette clarified. "You kissed me."

"Oh." Emma removed her hand from Regina's and brushed her hair back behind her ears. Her eyes were cast down on the dirt before she offered Regina a shrug. "It was just a peck, you were sad."

Regina wanted to argue that it wasn't just a peck; it had been a million little pecks making sure she was all right, and though Emma never touched her lips, she didn't have to for it to mean  _something_. Something that felt like...she held her tongue. Nodding minutely as if accepting the answer, Regina dropped the subject and removed her guitar from her lap. The two delved back into the quiet of the night. Emma back to her sketching though she would look up periodically, and Regina back to her quiet contemplation.

She must have gone crazy for the thoughts that had momentarily gone through her mind. Emma was her best friend. That was it. What was she trying to start? Nothing. There was nothing to start. Just them out in front of the lake that gave her too much time to dwell. But it was quite gorgeous really, and Regina couldn't wait to see what Emma came up with when she was done her sketch, but without much thought Regina slid off the hood of the car and unzipped her sweater, dropping it to the ground behind her. It wasn't until she shrugged off the sweats and began heading to the lake did Emma's eyes bulge out of her head and she stammered, "What are you doing?"

Regina tossed a smirk over her shoulder and pulled her t-shirt over her head, her bra following suit.

* * *

Emma was usually the wild one out of the two, but she had to admit, she had never gone skinny dipping, especially in the middle of a campground with other campers less than a hundred meters away from them. But having Regina initiate it, that was another thing entirely.

"Regina!" Emma hissed, scurrying towards her, picking up her clothes as she went.

"I have options, correct?" Regina said to the lake, topless for the sky to see.

"I don't think that's what we were talking about."

Glancing over her shoulder once more, Regina's eyes grew mischievous. "Skinny dipping?" Her shorts and panties followed at the edge of the lake, and like some Siren called to its home, Regina waded into the water, naked as the day she was born.

As elegantly as she hoped to disappear into the water, Regina jumped from side to side, shivering at the freezing temperatures. "This looked sexier in movies."

Emma laughed out loud, forgetting to be shocked by her friend's antics when Regina cursed in Spanish. She was grateful that the moonlight provided enough darkness that she didn't drift down to Regina's ass. She could keep her cool. It was just Regina stripping, that was all. Emma gulped.

"Are you going to come?" Regina turned, the water swishing around her. Maybe, the blonde groaned internally. Whatever bravery pill the brunette had swallowed was clearly working. Regina was on display for her, water up to her waist, but it did nothing to hide the girls. They had changed in front of each other numerous times over the years, and they walked in on each other in the shower in a frantic rush to brush their teeth, but this seemed different...intimate?

Emma swallowed hard.

Regina laughed throatily and walked backwards, further into the water until it reached just under her breasts. Regina didn't need to be shivering to let Emma know the lake was cold. Her nipples were saying enough. "Come on, Swan. What did you say?  _Where's your spontaneity?_ "

"I'll show you spontaneity," Emma grumbled as she dropped Regina's clothes by the edge of the shore with purpose. Her tank top and sports bra were over her head and her shorts and underwear kicked off, and just as ungracefully, Emma was in the water, teeth chattering and her arms crossed over her chest. "Th-this is freezing!"

Regina splashed her wickedly, and Emma yelped. "It's not so bad."

"I'm pretty sure we could go to jail for this. Ow! Jesus there's freaking minnows biting my toes!" Emma was already turning back when she suddenly felt two arms wrapped around her. She barely had time to open her mouth when Regina gripped her around the waist and tossed her further into the lake with a big splash.

Regina cackled when Emma emerged, blonde hair coloured brown from the water and hanging in ringlets in front of her face. Her hair was so long it covered her chest like a sad Eve. "You look like a wet rat."

"You're in trouble," Emma promised, advancing closer.

"Am I?" She asked coyly.

Without warning, Emma lunged. Regina screamed into the night, but Emma managed to pull her down enough to soak her head just as thoroughly. They fought in the water, struggling to get the upper hand, until Emma pulled Regina close, silencing her with a hand over her mouth.

" _Shhhh._ "

* * *

Regina barely had time to question Emma before she was pulled up to her eyeballs into the water. On the shore, she could see a flashlight shining from one of the tents in their area. Their noise had clearly startled someone awake enough to inspect the commotion going on in the lake, and as dangerous as it was to get caught, Regina couldn't help but feel exhilaration course through her. Neither women were 'bad kids' growing up, but having public indecency on their record was definitely a story to take home. Oh, she could imagine Kathryn's face when she returned and relayed the story back to her. The thought made her snort, bubbles erupting around them.

The light shone in their general direction, but Emma pulled her closer, her hands secure around Regina's hips and her body moulding against her side. She was vaguely aware of Emma's breasts pressed against her back. More than vaguely aware actually. Oh yes, Emma must have been freezing in this water.

It made her breath hitch.

As much as she wanted to turn a questioning look to Emma, Regina refrained in favour of hiding in plain sight. The curious camper retreated back to their tent, and after another full minute of hiding, Emma released her as she rose above surface level. Regina turned then, catching sight of Emma's frown toward the shore.

"That was a close one," the blonde exhaled.

With Emma standing to her full height, droplets of water cascaded down her collar, falling over the slope of her chest, before glistening down her firm stomach. Regina got an eyeful still crouched below the surface, and when she tried to put distance between herself and the blonde, the sand beneath her feet gave way and made her stumble.

"Careful." Emma reached out to catch her and pulled her in close. "Don't drown on me now, buttercup."

All Regina could do was chuckle, ducking her head shyly as she pulled a strand of hair behind her ear because if she wasn't keeping her hands busy they'd be steadying themselves on Emma's hip, and Regina was frightened to see where that would lead. "That was enough adventure for the night?"

"Yeah," Emma agreed taking her waist and leading them back to the shore. "My mom doesn't need a call asking her to bail us out of jail."

Regina was about to quip saying Mary Margaret would probably assume it Emma's idea and leave her daughter in there for a night to learn her lesson, but Emma's palm was on her bare hip, and the words didn't quite form in her throat. It was heightened emotion; that was all. Regina had an exhausting day and ended it with adrenaline rushing through her. It wasn't like her body would be responding to Emma's naked, wet one pressed against her own.

She took a step forward, trying to put distance between them.

The blonde smirked, mischief and mirth costing her eyes, and she splashed Regina one final time before running as fast as she could through the water. The last thing Regina took in before following the blonde was the generous globes of ass mooning her in the night. This was going to be a long trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: The song Regina is playing at Virginia Beach is Free Falling by Tom Petty and the one she plays by the lake is What's Up by Four Non Blondes


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer in Chapter One
> 
> AN: Did you guys know strep throat freaking sucks? Cheers to fever-induced comas!

Regina had to hide her face in Emma's hair as she braided it to keep from laughing outright as their fellow campsite neighbour inquired if they heard any noises in the lake the night before. They had arrived later, obviously, and probably would have seen whatever beast was splashing around its waters.

"A bear," the middle-aged man with a fishing hat and an already greying beard said determinedly. "Must have been pawing at the poor fish."

"There are only guppies in there," Emma pointed out.

Regina tightened the French braid fiercely, jerking Emma back at the admission before she added hastily, "At least from what we've seen. We took a stroll first thing in the morning and could see them just off the shoreline."

"Whatever it was," he finished ominously, "I'm going to catch it."

This time Emma was the one to cough violently into her palm to keep from laughing. If he was the same man who spotted them last night she sure as hell didn't want him to catch them. It seemed a few of the other campers were talking with themselves about the "bear" in the water, and both women had to stifle their laughter, Emma by biting her tongue, and Regina by snickering into Emma's neck. When the man had returned to his tent, the blonde snorted obnoxiously. Regina swatted her shoulder in cheeky reprimand.

"If he finds out we could go to jail."

"Uhm," Emma turned just as Regina finished tying off the braid. "That's what I said last night!"

The brunette tapped her shoulder so Emma moved forward.

"You have to admit," Regina began, standing up from the middle of the blanket, "last night was fun."

It was, Emma thought as she watched Regina head to the car and pop the trunk to grab a drink from the cooler. Regina's idea it may have been, but that didn't stop her mind from coming up with some saucy dreams when they finally managed to curl up on the blanket once they were dry. Regina had kept to her side, and Emma tried with all her might not to cuddle, not that she was a cuddler, but when she woke up that morning, her head on Regina's chest and the brunette's hand resting lightly on her hip, she knew this was going to be harder than she thought. She and Regina were best friends, and last night—it changed things. Not that seeing Regina naked was anything new, but it was somewhere after Regina was strutting toward the lake with a confidence she hadn't exhibited in so long that Emma realized she couldn't keep these feelings to herself. She was going to have to because if she pushed Regina away then what was she supposed to do with her life. God. Her hand ran through her hair, already messing up the French braid. It's just a crush. Just a crush. She loved Regina. It's not like she was in—

"Emma!" Regina waved from the open trunk of the bug with her phone pressed to her ear. "Your brother's on the line!"

She pushed the thought to the back of her mind as she hopped up and grabbed their blanket. It was just a crush, she repeated to herself, and honestly, not the first one she would have on Regina Mills since meeting her, befriending her, growing up with her. She'd get over it like she did the last ones and Regina would be none the wiser.

* * *

Aventura sang softly in Spanish as Regina sang along with the female chorus. She was getting better, both at driving stick and speaking her father's native tongue. The aftermath of the night before left Regina exhilarated. She had never done anything as scandalous as swimming nude in a lake. Her road rage was something to be concerned for, but the closest thing she had to a wild side was whenever she and Emma broke curfew nearly every weekend in high school, just enjoying conversation in the bed of her pickup. Even now as she thought about it, the bacteria and wildlife that inhabited the lake made her skin crawl and she had let her body out as a buffet feast. Whether it was the adventure of the company or a combination of both, her heart raced in thought as she grinned over at Emma.

The blonde had her legs up on the seat, using her knees as a makeshift table with her sketchbook firmly placed on it. She was sketching furiously, her eyebrows drawn together in concentration with her tongue between her teeth to the side like some growing puppy. She looked absolutely adorable.

As if sensing her presence, Emma looked up with a deep blush on her cheeks, none too subtly flipping the pages of her book over until she got to a new one. Regina raised an eyebrow. "What were you drawing?"

"Nothing."

"Then why are you hiding it?"

"I'm not hiding it." As if to prove her point, Emma held up her sketch book. The familiar panels of Rocky Road glanced back at her, and Regina snorted when the cropped hair woman stood naked, bare legs and bare arms, and an oversized t-shirt hiding her decency as she held it up against her. "Sonya has a bucket list too."

"Sonya?"

"And Lenny," Emma added pointing to the long-haired cartoon character who was dripping wet from the lake, fully clothed save for a crab biting her toe. "Her name is Eleanor, after a great grandma or something down the line that she can't even remember, but it's too old fashioned, so everyone calls her Lenny. Except Sonya. Sonya calls her Ellie, and Lenny pretends she doesn't like it, but only Sonya can call her that."

"How does it end?"

"I'll know that when we get home." Before Regina could even point out the similarities yet again, the blonde cut her off. "All characters appearing in this work are—"

"—fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, alive or dead, is purely coincidental," Regina finished for her with a laugh, shaking her head at Emma's foolishness and making a mental note to ask her about the hidden drawing again later. The blonde put away her sketchbook, momentarily unbuckling to place it in her bag in the back seat before sitting back down with a plump and reaching over for Regina's phone. "You know this song translates into him being a stalker, right?"

"You're speaking Spanish now?" the brunette questioned already knowing the answer.

"I speak Google."

Regina swatted her hand and reclaimed her phone before Emma could change it. "If you can listen to Life is a Highway on repeat, then I can listen to this."

"It tricks you into thinking it's romantic!" She argued, turning fully to face the driver. "She's got a boyfriend, and he keeps saying how he's no good for her and has a better car."

"And what about that man you dated who consistently listed off all the things he did for you as a reminder to get into your pants?" Regina brought up with a frown. She never liked that Killian Jones, and she was grateful when Emma realized she didn't like him either.

The blonde wrinkled her nose in distaste. "That was...a wildly bad mistake."

"Oh, but he gave up his boat for you once he realized you got sea-sick," Regina continued on with a dramatic flair, the back of her hand pressed to her forehead as if she would swoon.

Emma feigned a gag. "And he didn't even! He lent it to his buddy for a fishing trip!"

"You should start a companion piece for Rocky Road. The Romantic Misadventures of Eleanor Swan."

"Her last name isn't Swan," Emma mumbled. "It's Grouse."

Regina cackled. "Do I get royalties for you using a character in my likeness?"

"Any resemblance to real persons, alive or dead, is purely coincidental," Emma disclaimed once more in a flat voice. "And after almost getting us arrested, no you do not get any royalties."

Regina shook her head happily before handing her phone over to Emma. The blonde thanked her by changing the song to Carlos Santana.

"Do you remember that waitress in Delaware?" Regina asked. "The one with the legs."

Emma raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Yeah, I remember the one with the legs. Ruby, I think?"

"Did you want to go to that festival that she mentioned?" She inquired hopefully. "It's on the way and we're already in South Carolina."

Emma grinned wickedly, speaking while she unbuckled and reached behind to retrieve her sketchbook. "Now you're thinking."

* * *

"Emma, you're supposed to navigate. The driver drives, and the passenger holds the map!" Regina grumbled as she exited for the tenth time. She swore she was driving around the highway for at least an hour, Emma constantly telling her that the fair was behind them. She was sorely tempted just to drop Emma off on the side and get back on track to Tallahassee.

"I told you to turn around two exits ago!"

"You didn't!"

"I did!" She held up a hand as if to prove her point, but stabbing at a random town in South Carolina just made Regina more frustrated.

Regina growled, a deep snarl in her throat as she pulled into a fast food and gas station stop and forcibly put the car into park. "We're in the town already, we may as well just walk."

"Just walk?" Emma sounded incredulous. "You don't even know where it is."

"I would if someone was reading the map properly," Regina said in a sing-song voice before slipping out of the car and slamming the door shut.

When Ruby had mentioned it being a small town, she imagined something like the diner where she worked. A population of two thousand and less, coming together in old ways that were more archaic than revolutionary but it was a tradition so damn the consequences. Quite honestly the rest stop Regina parked in was one of the more modern conveniences they had witnessed on this trip. It wasn't so much a small town, but the beginning of suburbia. Being closer to the highway meant more restaurants and their version of downtown. No doubt if they headed further north, it would be like Stepford with cookie cutter houses and white picket fences. Storybrooke was smaller than this place. If Emma got her way, she'd invite Ruby and her girlfriend to their hometown and show them their Miner's Day festival. They never knew why they celebrated miners or why it was one of their biggest public events, but it'd definitely put things into perspective for the waitress.

Pulling her sunglasses onto her head and putting her reading glasses onto her nose, Regina looked around, hoping to see any signs of whatever festivities were going on. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary as she took the time to stretch her arms and legs, her dress billowing around her knees.

"My GPS says we're here," Emma announced coming out of the car and fiddling with her phone. "We didn't exactly have a precise address to this place, but maybe we could just explore."

"Lovely," she drawled and switched her glasses for her shades.

Emma slipped on her aviators and stretched her back. She kneeled into the backseat to get her backpack and Regina's purse, and when the two were equipped with essentials and the door to the bug was safely locked, they were off.

They decided North was the way to go, into what they could see were small mom and pop stores. Quite honestly this town's downtown reminded them of their own Main Street with old brick buildings housing various clothing shops, antique frame stores that no one entered, the odd health conscious restaurant, a tattoo parlour right next to a puppy store, and the token town bar that didn't always meet the health and safety regulations but was a town favourite regardless. It was after Emma pulled Regina away from a sidewalk sale did Emma suggest they simply ask someone for directions.

"We're going to look like tourists," Regina argued with a wrinkled nose, pulling her into the actual store to inspect the rest of their inventory.

"We are tourists."

"But we don't have to look like them. We can just be locals, getting a day in out and about." Regina held up a maxi dress to Emma and tilted her head thoughtfully. "I like this on you."

Emma shrugged at the material, trusting the brunette's judgement, as Regina scampered off to yet another rack. "If you want to shop, that's all you have to say."

"I want to shop."

So Emma followed Regina around dutifully, holding up the dresses and blouses and shorts she acquired, and even though the McDonald's they parked in front of was bigger than the clothing store they were in, Regina was able to spend an hour and a half there. The problem: Emma was Regina's dress-up doll.

The blonde wasn't necessarily tomboyish. She owned her fair share of dresses saved for special occasions like weddings and the odd party dress, and the times Regina let her borrow her outfits for interviews, Emma rocked the executive look, but summer typically called for shorts and tanks, not maxi dresses or rompers. The romper Regina persuaded Emma to wear made her feel uncomfortable, and when Emma struggled getting into the one-piece, Regina had no qualms entering the change room and showing Emma which way was up. The blonde, however, felt her cheeks go red as Regina stripped, using her own picked out romper as an example. Regina was getting a lot more liberal with showing her skin that it threw Emma off guard. Regina, however, must have struggled with the romper as well because her cheeks were red from exertion and her eyes drifted from Emma's partially clad body to the fabric as if she could magically will it onto her body.

The sales associate gently reminded them that it was one person per change room, and Emma wasn't oblivious to the fact that the young teen was wary of them together. It was a tight space and they were making a lot of noise.

She used the excuse of changing out of their clothes to change the topic from playing Barbie to the matter on hand. "So how is one irresponsible actually?"

Regina snorted. "Doing everything you did in high school."

"Hey," Emma argued. "I was a model student."

"Your final hurrah was tagging our school logo onto Auradon Prep after you beat their team in track."

Emma snickered. It took them months to clean that off.

"Forget it," Regina huffed giving up on the rompers and letting both just fall to the ground. In a deep purple matching lingerie set it was hard for Emma to keep her composure when Regina looked like  _that_. Suddenly her Fruit of the Loom matching undies and bra didn't quite seem so fancy.

She had seen Regina naked just the night before but there was something about a woman in underwear that just—her core tightened and she really, really needed to be alone for fifteen minutes. Probably less than that. Instead, she settled for casual and nodded at her attire. "Those are nice. Are they new?"

Regina looked down at herself and instinctively reached to cup her bra like she forgot she was even wearing them. The woman didn't even know how sexy she was being!

"Yes, I went shopping before our trip and there was a sale at Victoria Secret."

"Very nice," Emma agreed, thinking about anything besides Regina, two inches away and in her lingerie. Sad puppies, barf, Killian—oh that was a good one. "So being irresponsible?"

The brunette smiled coyly as she slipped back into her summer dress making Emma miss the lingerie just a little bit. The dress fell around her knees like a feather before she paused in thought. "I suppose being irresponsible means acting without consequence."

"So what? Like not paying your taxes?"

"That's just..." Regina furrowed her brow coming up with an adequate word, holding up Emma's shorts for her to take.

The blonde put them on. "Irresponsible?"

"Stupid," she supplied. "You could go to jail."

"Oh, like skinny dipping?" She teased with a smirk as she pulled over her tank.

Regina playfully pushed her out of the change room. "You had fun."

"The view was nice," Emma admitted with a wink. Regina was on the verge of a blush before she burst out laughing when Emma's suave moment was interrupted as she backed into a clothing rack.

"Or irresponsible could be not looking before walking," she chided, reaching out to straighten both the blonde and the rack.

"That's like saying jay-walking is irresponsible."

"It is! And illegal."

"So just living your life is being reckless," Emma argued. "You could have crossed that one off your list the day you took up horse riding because one swift kick from those monsters could kill you."

Regina opened her mouth to argue then shut up with an audible click.

"So what you're saying," Emma continued, dawdling after her around the store, "is that you want to intentionally do something, in your words,  _stupid_."

Regina, for lack of a better retort, glared at her before taking the clothes she was holding. "How about you go get the car and I will pay for these?"

"You're going to take another two hours if you see something shiny, aren't you?"

Chuckling and pressing her palms against the back of Emma's shoulder blades, she pushed gently but firmly. "Go."

* * *

The walk back to the car left Emma feeling very confused. Maybe this road trip wasn't the greatest idea. It was great for Regina, but if these feelings kept growing, what did that mean for them in the long run? Emma sighed when she caught sight of the McDonald's and found her car still parked there. Friends care about each other. Extremely. They had twenty years behind them, of course there was going to be a connection that was a tad bit deeper than friendship. Like her mom always said, every solid relationship, romantic or platonic, was bred with love. Her mother, the hopeless romantic who unfortunately passed on that gene to Emma, thought everything was laced with love.

But maybe she had a point this time.

Then she'd tell her, Emma decided as she slipped into the bug and started the engine. She'd tell Regina all about her feelings and maybe, maybe, Regina would feel the same way too. Her heart roared as loudly as her car. Oh god she was gonna tell her.

_After._

After the whole trip when they got back to Storybrooke. Now would be ill-timed; this trip was about Regina. Yes, Emma promised herself that come crossing that town line, she'd let Regina know that she loved her.

Chills ran through her arms that weren't from the air conditioning as she returned to the clothing store. She figured if she found Regina walking along the way, she could just pick her up, but the brunette was nowhere to be seen. She pulled into a parking spot in front of the store they were just in and decided to use Regina's shopping time to find the fair.

Going into Regina's big purse, she pulled out the map they had picked up to find the town. Then Emma was stuck. It's not like it could tell her where the fair was. A lightbulb lit above her head. She sat up a little, getting her phone from her pocket and firing up her browser, searching up the town they were in and added 'fair' beside it.

"Thank you, Google." The first five results showed the town hall directory and news articles about the fair and its vendors and one article about how lightening hit a tent a few years back but no one was severely hurt. She clicked the first link, was immediately greeted by their welcome page, before she navigated to their events section and found the gallery for the annual fair.

Celebration Fair, it was apparently called, though what they were celebrating wasn't explained. From the pictures Emma could see that it actually looked really decent. The weekend-event had everything Ruby said it would: rides, food, local shops selling their products, all you can eat contests, and a petting zoo. Regina would love the horses there. It wasn't the most concise page; its location was difficult to find but since it was a major event, all of town knew where it would be held. No outsider like Emma could stumble their way in. But she found it, after several page clicks and refreshes, on the bottom of its About Us section as if someone remembered last minute that the field behind the highway wasn't common knowledge.

She cross-referenced that address with the map, and she felt like an idiot. If they had gone away from the McDonald's, they would have been there as soon as they exited. At least they knew now. All she had to do was haul Regina and get going before it was too late.

Where the hell was that woman? Frowning, Emma switched apps on her phone and began to text her, but before she could press send, Regina tapped on the side window with an infectious grin.

"Hey," Emma greeted when Regina hopped in. "Where'd you go? I found the fair."

"There was an art shop just down the street, and I got you something," she answered excitedly, tossing her new clothes in the back but holding onto a paper bag from the art store.

"Regina—" She was silenced when Regina pulled out several leather-bound sketchbooks and a pack of Faber-Castell graphite pencils and a kit of their pencil crayons. Her eyes widened. "No way."

"You've been eyeing these ones, right?" Regina asked handing them over. "I wasn't sure if it was this or the Prismacolour you wanted."

"Regina, these are too expensive." Emma was already handing them back to her.

"You quit your job to drive cross-country for me," the brunette pointed out.

"Yeah, but you're my best friend."

"And you're not mine?" Regina challenged.

"Yeah, but—"

"But nothing," she insisted with a press of her hand to Emma's arm. "You're helping me realize several of my dreams. The least I can do is help you achieve yours. Give Rocky Road and The Saviour a home."

The blonde shook her head in astonishment before chuckling. Her fingers roamed over the leather, and even from her distance she could smell the new hide. This was no Wal-Mart spiral sketchbook. The papers inside were thick like cardstock and wouldn't bleed through the page if she used inking pens. A small smile touched her lips. "You're..." Emma laughed deliriously before exuding a beaming grin. " _I love you._ "

Regina settled into her seat and returned Emma's smile. "I know."

* * *

It turned out the fair was held just south of the highway where they exited, and if they had walked that way instead of heading downtown, they would have easily found the large field by sound alone. It was bigger than what Ruby made it out to be. Initially they thought it would be a dinky fair held by a church with a volunteer barbecue and a rented dunk tank. It was more of an event than that. They hadn't even found a parking spot yet, and they could already see crowds of people crossing the streets to get to the entrance.

By the time Emma and Regina joined the crowd, they were bumping shoulders with locals, hurrying to enter the festival gates. It was quite the spectacle. The air was filled with a mixture of sweet confections, burgers, hot dogs, and even ribs near the back of the field. Right by the entrance, local vendors were selling their homegrown veggies or kiosks were promoting their products or service. Emma smirked that there always seemed to be some big industry selling hot tubs and trailers at events like these, and she wondered who actually came here hoping for some good eats and came home with a hot tub. To the left were the rides and amusements—a Ferris wheel, bumper cars, a merry-go-round, and carny games that no one could ever win. Not for lack of trying. Emma was determined to go home with a giant stuffed panda, but Regina took one look at the light in her eyes and put her foot down.

"There'd be no room in the car with that horrid thing."

"It's cute," Emma had insisted, but followed Regina away from the games regardless.

Looping their way back to the entrance, Regina laughed and pointed to their right where sign up for the hot dog eating contest was being held on the stage there. The champion, a surprisingly petite woman posing for photographs currently held the record for thirty-five dogs consumed in five minutes flat. Emma boasted she could beat her by five dogs.

"This totally beats our Miner's Day," Emma muttered, guiding Regina through the throng of people with her hand on her back. Regina nodded, staying close as they weaved their way toward the back where the food vendors were. They must have come at a busy hour for people were moving at a snail's pace, families stopping in front of them wondering which line was for the ribs and which one was for the porta potties. In the confusion, the two women separated momentarily, Regina being pushed ahead in the crowd. Over the heads of people, Emma could see Regina's hair, held up by a clip, but the brunette didn't seem to notice she was walking solo until she stopped and looked around, searching for the blonde. Emma tried to weave her way through, apologizing with every bump and stubbed toe, until she felt fingers weave with her own and she was pulled through a small gap.

"Stay close." Regina held her hand tightly and led them to a less crowded area.

It must have been heaven for Emma, Regina had to admit. Although they had been living off of fast food for the last few days, there was something about overpriced festival food that made both of them want to try everything at least once. They walked by the vendors, trying to determine what they wanted to eat first. It was still early afternoon, so they could eat something now, walk it off, then grab something that later. Regina voiced that her arteries couldn't handle that, but then Emma pointed out funnel cake, and she was putty. Blooming onions, foot long corn dogs, pulled pork, and corn on the cob. Regina, who had a secret sweet tooth very few knew about, eyed the funnel cake cart. She hated to admit the deep fried cheesecake was calling her name.

"Hey, the petting zoo!" Regina didn't have time to process when Emma yanked her toward the carnival rides, past the Ferris wheel and carousel and behind the drop zone.

The smell of manure and animals was a familiar scent to Regina as they located the entrance to the petting zoo where pens of piglets, baby goats, ducklings, chicks, and lambs were held. A trained volunteer in each pen, children were lining up to feed the pigs or hold the chicks. Parents smiled, snapping memories of their kids in candid moments. It was an organized chaos and Regina loved it.

"Hey, a swan!" Emma pulled Regina over to a pen where a swan lay beside its mate. "It's like me."

"Riddled with diseases and a nasty temper?" Regina quipped.

Emma glared before leaning over the pen to stretch her hand out, enticing the swan closer. "Take our picture."

"You hate birds."

"But it's a swan. It's different, they're elegant. We're like family."

"Child," Regina murmured before digging into her purse and pulling out her camera. Emma grinned, nearly doubling over the pen to reach the bird when it honked and she yelped, falling on her behind.

It flapped its wings menacingly at her as it stormed toward the fence, and Emma scurried like a crab to put distance between them. "It bit me!"

Regina couldn't help but laugh as Emma stared outraged at the animal, wings outstretched and making itself big. Even as the blonde glared, she still remained knocked down as the swan honked directly at her once more.

"I thought you were family." Her laughter grew when she examined the picture taken. "Oh, this is delightful."

In a blur of white and yellow, the picture captured Emma jumping nearly a foot off the fence as she reared back from the attacking swan. The blonde in question picked herself up off the ground and dusted herself, none too subtly glaring at the cause of her embarrassment. She leaned over Regina's shoulder to frown at the picture. "I knew birds were evil. Delete that."

"No." She promptly hid the camera in her purse. "You can use it for inspiration for Lenny Grouse's misadventures."

Emma muttered, leading them away from the evil bird and immediately brought them to the food vendors where her stomach growled audibly. It took them two laps around the vendors to decide what they wanted. A pulled pork sandwich for Emma and a corn on the cob for Regina. If she was going to eat her weight in sweets that night, then she may as well have a moderately healthy lunch. The amount of butter on it was heavenly but not the health she was going for.

"Remind me to send a postcard to Ruby," Emma said in between bites as they sat on a space of empty grass away from the chaos. "This is amazing."

She held up a forkful of pulled pork and offered it to Regina. The brunette moaned at the taste. "That's even better than when I make it."

"I should have gotten their ribs too."

"Speak of the devil." Regina nodded her chin in the direction of the vendors when she spotted the brunette who had been their waitress as Granny's days ago.

Ruby, still as leggy as ever in her cut off shorts and sleeveless band shirt, held a significantly smaller Asian woman's hand. The woman was gorgeously tanned in her own high-waisted shorts and long blouse, but her slim combat boots were a stark contrast against her outfit. They seemed to be doing their own inspection of where to eat when the waitress lifted her aviators from her face and squinted in their direction. She grinned to the woman beside her and pulled her along until they both dropped by Regina and Emma.

"Hey!" Ruby grinned, pulling Emma into a hug. The blonde stiffened in surprised but hugged back. "You two made it! Mulan, this is the couple I was telling you about."

Both Emma and Regina shared a look, one of understanding yet reluctance, and if Regina took another second to process before she turned back to the younger couple, disappointment.

"Hey," Mulan offered both a firm handshake before she motioned to her girlfriend. "I'm sorry, she's very forward."

"They knew that when they met me," Ruby shrugged with a flip of her hair. "How's the road trip?"

They regaled her of stories from the last few days. Emma had taken to the waitress immediately and even backhanded her across the arm when she mentioned the Sunshine Inn and its very creepy manager. He was harmless, Ruby promised. But he did have a thing for taxidermy, Mulan added just the same. That was enough to make Regina shudder, and Emma grinned pulling her under her arm. She stayed there, nestled beside Emma across from Ruby and her own girlfriend whose legs were entangled with the waitress's. She knew what they looked like. Two couples on a double date. It wouldn't be the first time they were mistaken for a couple, and quite honestly, it probably wouldn't be the last, but it was the first time Regina wondered what it would be like if those assumptions were correct. She wiggled comfortably under her arm, giving Emma the last bite of her corn and Emma putting the bare cob with the rest of their garbage. It seemed Regina wasn't the only one who saw their perception for Mulan asked, "So you two have been together for a while then?"

"Just about twenty years now," Emma answered innocently enough though Regina exhaled knowingly into the blonde's side.

"It's so great to see relationships last so long."

Regina could feel Emma slowly come to the realization and gripped the blonde's leg in her panic. She tried hard not to think too much that this was Emma's reaction at the thought of them in a relationship, but she offered her friend an encouraging squeeze. She was about to open her mouth to clear up the air but Ruby was the one to add to her girlfriend's statement.

"High school sweethearts, right?" Ruby didn't wait for a confirmation before pointing outward toward the older pair. "See I told you it's more than just us. We made it too."

The Asian woman, not striking anyone as timid suddenly grew shy as a smile graced her lips and she tugged Ruby in by the chin to kiss her sweetly.

"They think we're dating," Emma whispered in Regina's ear as the other couple were preoccupied.

Whatever brain function, or lack thereof, had taken over, it was far too late to reconsider her actions when Regina's eyes brightened with mischievous fire and brought Emma's hands up around her neck and leaned in close to her lips to whisper. "We could always give them a show."

Green eyes widened to the size of saucers. "What?"

"Sorry." Mulan blushed and pulled away from Ruby, but the leggy brunette just kept her hold on her more firmly. "We can show you around."

The foursome stood, Regina depositing the trash when Emma still seemed paralyzed. Letting the younger women take the lead, Regina linked her fingers with Emma and held them up between them in teasing play. "Look, we're holding hands like a couple, and we're swinging our arms like a couple, and—"

Emma suddenly tugged her, making Regina lose her step and fall pressed against Emma where the blonde wrapped her arms around her waist, her eyes stormy and her chin tucked low as she whispered. "And kiss like a couple."

Regina's eyes were wide and her heart was pounding louder than any country song playing on stage as she stared up into Emma's jade eyes with wonder. Was she serious? If she was serious then what was she waiting for? Then again she could lean forward just a tiny, tiny bit and she would feel her. Feel Emma's lips pressed against her own. She could already feel her breath hit her face, and she was so close. Her toes must have been rising on her own since she was a hair's breadth away.

Then Emma spoke. "Was this a good enough show?"

Regina dropped to her heels and blinked rapidly. Her heart wouldn't stop racing and neither could the tingling between her legs. "What?"

Emma gave a shit-eating grin and draped an arm around Regina's shoulder. "For the record, if we had been dating since high school, I definitely would have put a ring on it already."

She left Regina with a wet kiss to the cheek to catch up with Ruby and Mulan. The brunette, for the second time in two days, was left staring after Emma thinking  _oh god what have I done?_

* * *

The foursome got free samples of fudge and tried on novelty hats, but as the sun started to set, Emma pulled them away to the hot dog eating contest, and Mulan and Ruby just had to witness the outsider take on the champ. Regina rolled her eyes at that, but Emma was insistent that she was going to show these suburban folks how a real small town girl eats.

Apparently the contest was a fairly huge deal as the champion, Ashley Boyd, was a homegrown local legend defending the title that her father before her held. Easy peasy, the blonde shrugged, jumping from side to side off stage like she was getting ready to go twelve rounds with Tyson.

"We'll get funnel cake after this too," she boasted.

"Just don't throw up," Regina demanded, massaging the blonde's shoulders from behind. "I don't care if it is your car, I will not drive in a vomit-filled vehicle."

"Please," she shrugged cockily and turned to face her. "I've got this in the bag."

It turned out, much to Regina's unpleasant surprise, Emma did have it in the bag, though not the one Emma was referencing. Two minutes and ten hotdogs in the woman's face turned green and she reached for the barf bag under her table.

"She ate better at the diner," Ruby laughed into Mulan's hair.

"She could have done it if it wasn't hot dogs. She usually can eat for hours." Regina's look of concern as Emma was helped to the edge of the stage momentarily turned to confusion as the younger couple beside her nodded their agreement.

"I know," Ruby agreed. "Mulan can be down there for—"

The waitress didn't get to finish when her girlfriend elbowed her hard, but Regina already got the message and realized what she had said. So much for the clearing the air.

She was almost embarrassed, cheering wildly for Emma who up until throwing up had taken the early lead. It was a mistake, clearly. The reigning champ and a big burly man took advantage of the situation and eased their way to twenty dogs a piece by the time Emma was blowing chunks. The crowd hollered when Emma got sick, and one local even nudged Regina and asked if Emma was hers. She nodded, saying her goodbyes to Ruby and Mulan, and weaved her way through the crowd where Emma was escorted off stage with a participation ribbon and a bottle of water.

"Would you like funnel cake?" Regina teased, catching Emma when the blonde doubled over behind the stage to spit.

"Please don't talk about food," she groaned.

Regina smirked and decided to take pity on her and held her hair back as Emma rinsed and spat.

"What, no I told you so?"

"Your stomach is doing that for me."

It took a full fifteen minutes for Emma to be well-enough to stand. Between her upset stomach, her various and wild excuses of her failure ranged from spoiled hot dogs to "I don't even like sausage anyway."

Regina snorted extra hard at that one, especially after what she had inadvertently admitted to Ruby and Mulan. No, Emma certainly did not like sausage. She soothed her friend's ego by getting her a slushy. It would soothe her stomach better than ginger ale, and Emma really, really wanted it. Needless to say, she didn't share when Regina finally got her funnel cake with strawberries and ice cream. It was the most the brunette had eaten in one day in their whole trip. She was sated, both in hunger and in happiness as they spent the rest of the evening enjoying themselves. Somehow, Emma was able to stomach cotton candy, but Regina held the remainder of the bag as she waited in line for the Ferris wheel.

It was generic going on it at sunset, but it didn't mean they were on a date. Many people did it. That's when the wheel lit up and the sunset was gorgeous. Nothing romantic about it at all. She rolled her eyes at all the lovesick teenage couples, canoodling in line. Arms wrapped around shoulders, giant prizes tucked under arms, heads resting against one another. Juvenile.

Hands came over her eyes making her fight to roll them. "Guess who?"

"Mary Margaret?"

"No."

"It must be Santa then."

Regina shivered audibly when Emma's lips touched her ear as she whispered, "I have a surprise."

"A surprise?" Her voice raised an octave unwillingly, and she felt Emma gently push her forward, presumably moving up in line.

"Yeah I think you'll like it." She removed her hands, and Regina blinked, turning to see the blonde with a bashful yet pleased grin on her face but nothing to show for it. Then Regina noticed she was hiding something behind her back, and Emma was about to get an earful if she bought herself a candy apple. "What did you do?"

"Nothing," she feigned offence. "Why do you think I always do something bad?"

They fell into step when the line moved. Four carts opened up on the wheel as the ride pulsed brightly in neon red, blue, and greens, and the announcer thanked them for enjoying the ride. They shuffled along as each couple sat in one of the four carts, Emma and Regina managing to snag one before the next rotation up.

"You've usually done something."

An assistant made sure their cart was securely locked in place before giving the thumbs up to the operator.

"I was on my way to get a caramel apple—"

"Oh is that what they call washrooms now?"

"—and I passed by the petting zoo as they were packing up."

Regina snorted. "Did one of the llamas spit on you?"

Emma grinned, but it was then she realized they had moved and she was momentarily taken by the sight. Regina followed her gaze outward behind her and inhaled sharply. She couldn't remember the last time she had ridden a Ferris wheel. It didn't seem worth it to spend three tickets on a ride that did little when she could go on a rollercoaster. But this view was phenomenal. Simple yes, and not quite as extravagant as what the view would be from The Watchtower in New York, but as they rose up high, the people down below them ant-like, the lights from the other attractions and vendors pulsing, the sky swirling pink and yellow and blue like their bag of cotton candy, it sure was breath taking.

"Wow," Emma breathed out.

Regina nodded, barely taking note that Emma was nearly pressed against her, her lips tickling her ear as they stared outward. Shifting in her seat, Regina pulled out her phone and held it out in front of them. "Come here."

Emma didn't need to be told twice. With the sunset behind them, they grinned into the camera, taking multiple shots both sweet and silly. Emma had turned and pecked Regina's cheek in a captured moment, but before the brunette could blush, Emma blew raspberries on her cheek making Regina shriek and laugh. The operator had to remind them not to rock the cart.

On their descent down and up again, Emma remembered herself and dug a piece of paper from her back pocket. "Anyway, I caught the petting zoo."

Regina took the proffered page and squinted. The flyer she assumed it was turned out to be a certificate, nothing elegant, but filled with enough legitimacy to mean something. Her eyebrows shot up curiously.

_Congratulations on your adoption!_

"What is this?"

"It's the adopt-an-animal thing. Help provide basic necessities for them and toys and grooming so they can grow big and strong," Emma explained with a shy shuffle about her.

"Billy Swan-Mills?" Regina questioned, catching the name in the centre just above Emma's signature of adopter and seeing a place for her own name.

"Yeah, like a baby Billy Goat!" The blonde perked up, but when Regina still looked confused, she shrugged hopefully and pointed to the picture of the baby goat that was supposedly their own. "You wanted a  _kid_ , right?"

Regina opened her mouth in surprise, the world drowning out in that moment. She didn't take in the fact that the operator said they had two more rotations to go and completely forgot about the amount of unhealthy foods and sweets she had consumed today. Emma had been a firm supporter in her quest to complete her bucket list, but this innocuous act of helping made her want to laugh and cry and kiss the shy smile off Emma's face. Her heart swelled, but she could see Emma's face fill with momentary panic. "I mean, I know it's not a human kid and I'm not trying to downplay you being a mom or anything I just—"

Regina shut her up by pulling her into a tight hug. The blonde relaxed with a deep exhale and wrapped her arms around Regina's waist in relief. "You are..."

No adequate word came to Regina's mind because Emma was more than just wonderful, amazing, the best. She was  _everything_.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer in Chapter One
> 
> AN: Haha I love that you guys liked their kid! This one is a very Regina-centric chapter since the show seems to think Hook is a lead? *shrugs* Hope you enjoy!

Regina sat in the tub, blissfully enjoying a good soaking. They had opted in grabbing a hotel after the festival since Emma's stomach acted up after the Ferris wheel, and Regina was too tired to drive through the night. Before they left though, the pair posed in front of their kid, spending a few minutes before the petting zoo closed up to play with Billy. Regina even fed him from a bottle, and the smile stayed on her face well into getting their room and Emma falling face-first onto the queen bed. The brunette departed for the bathroom, the luxury of a real tub and steaming hot water was missed sorely, especially after they had taken that dip in the lake and Regina refused to touch the community washrooms at the campground. She'd rather a peeping Tom in a private bathroom at a motel than have fungus grow on her feet. Emma had laughed at her then, saying she could swim naked in a lake but shower beside one was out of the question. It had been. It was different. Regina just didn't have a suitable excuse at the time as to how it was different, but it didn't matter. She got her hot bath and real bed, and it was absolutely relaxing. Buying the bath salts at one of the festival's vendors had been a splendid idea as Regina settled into the bursting jasmine-scented water that eased her instantly.

Her eyes were falling shut when a knock sounded on the bathroom door. Emma poked her head in with a sleepy smile.

"Hey," Regina greeted as the blonde stepped in, hair pulled into a bun and already donning a tank and panty set for sleep. "Are you feeling better?"

"Maybe I shouldn't have had that cotton candy," she mused. "Or the slushy. And I think the swan bite is infected."

Regina laughed melodically before lifting her hand from the tub, the water rippling at the disturbance. She caught Emma's hand, forcing the blonde to sit on the edge of the porcelain and inspected the bite, unaware that Emma was doing her damnedest not to glance through the soapy water to catch the suds on Regina's bare chest. Her palm was a little tender, if Emma's hiss was any indication, but not even broken skin. "There's nothing wrong."

"It's sore."

Regina feigned a pout and brought the finger to her lips. "You big baby. All better?"

The blonde smirked and nodded. "Thank you, Doctor Mills."

Regina didn't let her go, her fingers playing with the tattoo on Emma's wrist. A small dandelion she had gotten hours after they buried her father. Regina hadn't said anything as she followed Emma from the cemetery to the lone tattoo parlour in Storybrooke, and when the blonde couldn't bring herself to go to the reception at their apartment, she and Emma sat in the bed of her pickup until Mary Margaret found them the next morning. She kissed it lightly once more. "Head to bed. Doctor's orders."

"One night of skinny dipping, and you think you're the Queen of Sheba," Emma said coyly. She used her free hand to lightly splash Regina's face, barking out laughter as she retaliated to the sink.

"And you're still a child," the brunette glared, water dripping down her chin.

She caught Emma's gaze in the mirror and rolled her eyes as the blonde smirked too proudly of herself before brushing her teeth for the night. When her mouth was rinsed and the toothpaste capped, Emma wiped her chin on a face towel and held her hand up for a high five. "Good night."

Regina met it, her wet palm slapping Emma's as their fingers interlaced for a few moments. "Night, Em."

She disappeared out of the bathroom, and Regina could hear her rummage around their room for some last minute wanderings before the bed creaked under her weight and a light clicked off.

Regina sighed languidly, a content smile forming on her face. In the constant need to get from one state to the other, this moment relaxing in the tub felt like heaven. It was amazing, she thought, how much she had done since writing that blasted bucket list. Perhaps her therapist was on to something. It had been a long while since she last felt free and truly in control in her life. Ironic, really, since she had her days planned down to the very hour. But these last few days made her feel as invigorated as the bath salts working their magic on her skin.

She could hold her own in a simple Spanish conversation, and her fingering on the guitar was improving exponentially. She could practically play Chasing Cars in her sleep and the other songs she was practising were coming with ease. But this trip had done wonders for her, and she couldn't help but think of how much she owed to Emma. It would never have happened if the blonde hadn't forced her hand. In fact, most of this trip wouldn't have happened if it weren't for Emma. The thought both lifted her spirits and made her frown. Throughout their whole lives she knew Emma was her biggest supporter. The blonde used to sneak into Regina's room at nights whenever Cora became too overbearing and her schooling was just a little too stressful. Emma was always there. It shouldn't have surprised her that even in their mid-thirties Emma would be the one looking out for her.

Blessed as she may be to have someone so endearing in her life, Regina took a moment to reflect on her list. Spanish and guitar playing she had picked up herself, but that was something she didn't have to make herself vulnerable for. The road trip, the horse riding, and even that goddamn kid were all Emma. Admittedly, the skinny dipping was her idea and the past few days had been one spontaneous decision after another, but one moment of bravery didn't trump hopping in a car and driving through several states. Emma quit her job for her. Regina was simply on sabbatical.

She was still learning, Regina argued, sitting up in the tub and letting the water cascade down her body. Not that learning how to be fun was a lesson. She sighed and dropped her hands in the water with a splash. One night stand and being irresponsible. Those two were the only ones she hadn't accomplished yet. And of course the number one that still hadn't made itself known. But those ones she could do. She just needed to—no, not plan it, necessarily, but  _something_. How does one plan a one night stand anyway? It's not like she could walk into any old bar and choose one lucky bedmate and stake her claim. She supposed she could do just that, but that was tactless. What if they had an STI? What if they were awful in bed? She had no idea how people did this every weekend without having a panic attack. Just the thought of it made her skin crawl. Curse her past self who wanted to put a blush on Dr. Hopper's cheeks.

This relaxing bath was proving far more stressful than when she initially got in, but it was revealing. Perhaps she could knock off two birds with one stone, so to speak. They weren't too far from those bars she had seen during their shopping excursion. Regina could easily get dolled up and meet a potential suitor. Not that she had any intention of pursuing a relationship with them. But she couldn't bring them back to the hotel, not with Emma sleeping. The thought of having relations in a grimy washroom made her nose wrinkle and she most definitely was not going to a stranger's home. A car? Not Emma's, that would be rude. She shook her head. Too much thinking. She needed to act. The night would just fall into place, and she could just roll with it, more or less.

Getting up from the tub, she pulled the plug and let the soapy and fizzling water gurgle down the drain. She could do this. She wasn't unfamiliar with the party scene, and she knew she was more than just attractive. This would be easy.

Stepping over the lip of the tub, she dried herself thoroughly before wrapping the towel around her body. Pulling the clip from her hair, her longer than normal locks cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall. Nerves suddenly took over her at the reality of what she was hoping to do. But she was Regina Mills goddammit. She shouldn't be afraid to conquer anything.

It took quicker than she anticipated selecting clothes from her suitcase, very quietly inching her way back into the bathroom when she found Emma sprawled out on the bed. Her make-up came next, and though she usually went with a more natural look, tonight she was feeling bold. With every careful swirl of the dark eyeliner framing her eyes and every stroke of the smokey royal purple eyeshadow on her lid, Regina felt more emboldened. Liquid sex, Emma would have called it, though the term wouldn't have made sense to her. The final touch came with her deep red lipstick on perfectly pouting lips, and by the time her hair was loosely curled, she was ready to go.

She swept over her appearance once more, pleased with her mysterious make-up look that matched the dark jeans, white tank, and borrowed black sleeveless vest. If she didn't know any better she would assume she did this on a regular basis. Flashing her reflection a stunning smile, Regina crept out of the washroom. She briefly contemplated pilfering the keys from Emma's pants pocket lying haphazardly on a sitting chair, but that was just a touch too teenage rebellion for her. Instead, she jotted a quick note on the complimentary stationary to Emma that she was off exploring, made sure she had her room key and purse, and left for the night.

It wasn't a far walk from their hotel back to the downtown core. In fact it was only a five minute walk from the McDonald's they parked in front of earlier. Regina was just happy that they hadn't decided to road trip in the middle of winter. The late June heat was still humid even in the night time hours, and already her softly curled hair was beginning to crimp in the heat. A car or two, with their windows rolled down and their music blaring, passed Regina as she crossed the street and headed north, and she knew she was on the right path when she spotted a small crowd hoping to gain entrance into the club. She was surprised to discover that there were a few clubs within the small stretch of shops. It wasn't as lively as Club Quarters in New York, but for suburbia, it was already quite wild. A lounge dubbed the Social Club was having an all ages event that night, and fourteen-year olds flocked to the entrance in outfits that made her weep for their mothers. She most certainly wasn't going in there. A rodeo-themed bar seemed to be the most popular with a line extending out until the end of the block, but Regina was neither dressed nor cared for country music.

A bar named Brock House was where she found herself, getting in for free since it was ladies night and feeling unintentionally pleased when they ID'ed her. It was quaint to say the least. One definitely came here as a means of escape rather than to dance and frolic and gyrate. The bar was dimly lit, a wide area in front of her was meant for dancing, though the sound system playing overhead was currently blasting soft rock. A stray couple, whether they were together long or just found each other that night, were swaying together on the floor, locked in an embrace. To the left was the bar where most were congregated around, parked there for the night or ferrying between the bar and their table with their hands full of drinks. As grunge as it was, it was definitely more Regina's speed.

Tilting her chin up and dropping her shoulders, she stalked over to the bar right when a spot cleared. She cleared her throat to get the bartender's attention, but the leather-clad redhead was enthralled by conversation at the end of the bar and it's not like her voice carried over the music. Her fingers tapped lightly in rhythm with the beat as she tried to act nonchalant, but the longer she waited the more irritated she felt just sitting there. Finally when the bartender moved to make a round of shots for some people close by to her, Regina held a hand out, her "excuse me" drowned out by the conversation of the room and the sound system.

Her cheeks burned with embarrassment though she had no idea why. It was just a stupid drink, and clearly the bartender was busy. She tried her luck once more, but the woman behind the counter walked by her and leaned in to hear the young man's order beside her. She refrained from cursing them both out and debated just shouting her order out, but the bartender was gone once more, and Regina was seriously contemplating calling it a night. She was too old for this. That certainly left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Suddenly the redhead stopped right in front of her, a martini in her hand as she placed it in front of Regina with a wink before she was off again. She eyed it suspiciously, barely touching it to determine what it was for before the young man beside her turned and leaned in close. "I figured you'd like a dirty martini."

Her eyebrows rose at the blatant flirtation. The young man may be handsome with his dimpled smile and his chiseled jaw, but she guaranteed she was at least ten years older than him.

"I hate to say that you guessed wrong," she said with an apologetic shrug. She took the speared olive anyway and popped it in her mouth suppressing her wince at the taste. She didn't like olives either.

"How about I buy you another one, and we can start over?" He hoped. "I'm Chase."

She nearly snorted at that.  _Chase?_  He must be an avid surfer or gym rat. She silenced the voice in her head that mocked him because this was exactly what she went out to find. Admittedly, hopefully someone older and less...entitled, perhaps even a woman, but the night was still young. She smiled, offering her hand and leaning in closer to speak in his ear. "Regina."

"Hello, Regina," he said then motioned to her drink. "What can I get you instead?"

"This is fine, thank you." She grasped the stem and brought the drink to her lips. Wine was her usual drink of choice unless she and Emma were drinking heavily, and she knew from work Christmas parties that martinis were not her friend. She drank it anywhere, seeing as the bartender was so caught up in her work, but the taste made her nose wrinkle.

Chase laughed and leaned forward. "I'm sorry, you really don't like it."

"It's not my favourite."

He raised a finger in the air and within a moment the leather-clad woman was leaning over the counter listening for his drink order. She was quick in grabbing two shot glasses and a bottle of vodka and pouring them into the glass before she was gone again.

"Shots?"

"Presumptuous," she said with more bite than intended. Would it kill him to ask what she wanted? She took the proffered shot and downed it quickly, hissing at the burn in her throat, but at least she could handle the momentary sting.

"So Regina," Chase continued, leaning over her, his palm much too high on her thigh. "Did you want to dance?"

The proposition, though not entirely unexpected, took Regina by surprise. She didn't know why she thought she could be completely comfortable with a stranger in a drink's time, but she was not. He didn't know more than her name, what she did, where she was from, and he wanted to spend the evening groping her on the dance floor. His hand was insistent on her thigh, and this was starting to look like not her most clever of moments. A part of her argued that it was just a harmless dance, but she knew how it could be misconstrued. It was the tiniest form of interest that he would latch onto and hold against her, and though she had ten years on him, he was clearly had some sort of strength. Her warring mind had taken too long to answer for he leaned in closer, his lips gracing her earlobe.

"Is that a yes?"

She shuddered in distaste and promptly shook her head, putting distance between them. "I actually have to go."

"You have to go?"

She pulled his hand from her lap and stood up, tossing a few bills on the table to cover the drinks meant for her. "Good night, Chase."

"Wait, don't be like that," he pleaded catching her wrist. "We can just talk."

Her eyes flashed at the contact, and she ripped her hand away. "No, thank you."

She stormed away from the bar and toward the exit, her cheeks heating up in foolishness. This was a bad idea. She wasn't twenty-one anymore. Her time for frolicking and gallivanting every weekend was over and done with. Her age was starting to get the best of her as she walked away from the bar. Perhaps she should have given him a chance, but the vibe she was getting off of him was that she would probably have been fending him off her with a bat later on that night if she wasn't careful.

Isn't that what she wanted though? The chance to feel young again, to feel free and promiscuous. That didn't exactly mean she wanted to risk pregnancy.  _Or worse_ , she thought remembering his grip on her leg.

Stepping into the warm night air, Regina let out a heavy sigh as the music picked up in the clubs around her. Well this night was a bust, and now she was all dressed up with nowhere to go. She walked aimlessly along the sidewalks, avoiding groups of young women as they crossed streets to wait in lines or duos of young men leaving clubs to get munchies. She glanced into the darkened shops that she had missed on her shopping excursion earlier. Other than the last hour or so, the rest of the day had been memorable. It had been the best, really. She may not have been able to cross off one of her more risqué tasks off her list, but at least she was getting there. There were no set bucket list rules. She could change it if she wished, but she couldn't stop herself from thinking that was cheating. The idea of going home with that boy, because he very much was a boy, was just revolting. Maybe if it was somebody else it wouldn't be so difficult. Hell, if it had been that bartender, the night could have ended much better. Whatever it was, Regina was just happy to have gotten out of there.

She carefully avoided the groups of people crowded around doorways hoping to gain entrance into clubs or crossing streets for some late night shawarmas. Despite the hour, she was still fairly wired from her hit and miss adventure. The hotel had cable that she could watch or even hit up the gym upon her return, but she was already out. Might as well see what the night had to offer her. Her mind was going over her plans for the foreseeable evening when loud rock music caught her attention through black tinted windows. She arched an eyebrow, pausing her steps as she looked up to the sign overhead.  _Adrenaline Ink._  Tattoos and piercings.

Growing up, Regina had always wanted her cartilage pierced. It was the fad in their high school for a long while, but Cora would never give her permission, and as an adult, she lost interest altogether. A tattoo, however, was a permanent fixture. Emma had several, having accompanied the blonde to her first tattoo at eighteen where she got a small trinity symbol inked onto her ankle because the girl had been obsessed with Charmed. She toyed with the idea of getting a tattoo in the past, but with her work, she grew to believe it wholly inappropriate. Now, she didn't give a damn. It was her body, and she would do with it what she wanted.

Whatever drove Regina into the shop must have been some divine force, for when the door slammed shut behind her, and metal looking individuals stared back at her questioningly, she held her chin up in defiance.

"We don't service drunk people," said a thin man wearing a black muscle shirt and cargo shorts, every inch of skin save for his face tattooed.

She raised a curious eyebrow. "What makes you think I'm inebriated?"

The man he was tattooing, a big biker with a beard and his hair tied back in a ponytail, laughed. "She got you there, Genie."

"Genie?" Regina

"Eugene," the thin man explained before finishing off his client and wiping him off. The portrait of a little girl he had finished was actually quite good. She had expected skull and crossbones or naked women, but the art left on his shoulder made Regina feel even more confident about being there. "All done, Jack."

Jack nodded and waited for Genie to cover the tattoo with some gauze before standing up from his chair. Regina waited by the front entrance of the small shop that was no bigger than a square room. The entrance held many pictures, printed kodaks of what she assumed were tattoos and piercings done at the shop. A dragon on a man's bicep, Van Gogh's sunflower on a woman's foot, a tongue pierced, a lip ring, and—though Regina blushed seeing it—that was very much a barbell on a woman's clit. She turned her head when Genie rolled away from Jack and stood behind a small register counter at the very back. She overheard his instructions on keeping it clean as they booked an appointment for another session, and with an encouraging wink from the giant Hells Angel man, Regina and Genie were alone in the store.

"Usually girls don't come in here by themselves," Genie said, washing his hands and lowering the volume of the surround sound, the heavy metal rock lulling to a quiet hum. "More often than not, one of their friends will come in and pull them out because they strayed away from the group."

Regina shook her head. "It's just me, and I'm perfectly capable of making a body modification decision."

He smirked and moved around the counter to stand near her. "No offence, but it looks like you woke up in the middle of the night and decided to walk into my shop."

"That's more or less what happened."

He nodded, folding his arms over his chest. "Are you sure you want to 'modify' your body?"

She bit her lip, taking a look at all the pictures once more. She could always come in the morning after she slept on it, and maybe Emma could help her decide. But that defeated the purpose of fulfilling a task on her bucket list by herself. A tattoo of a monkey hanging upside down behind someone's ear stared back at her. She could get a horse tattoo. Yet, that didn't seem  _cool_  enough, and she wasn't overly enthused about it. A butterfly on her lower back? Cliche. Definitely not a tribal tattoo around her bicep. Her heart raced as she felt Eugene's eyes on her, struggling to make a decision.

Eugene sat down on the chair he had vacated and wheeled himself over to her. "Your first tattoo?"

"Yes."

"What do you like?"

Regina, usually very verbose, seemed not to like anything in that moment. Horses, guitar playing, cooking, it all went out the window when he asked of her hobbies.

"Don't answer that," he held up a hand. "And don't get something inked on your skin forever if you don't know what you want."

She nodded tightly and pulled her vest closer together. Her flaming cheeks were ignored as she held herself up with newly feigned confidence despite the fact that this boy-child was mocking her. "Well, I'm sorry I wasted your time."

Before she could turn and walk away, he wheeled over to her quickly, the sudden vibration of plastic against hardwood making her stop. "You didn't. I'm just saying come back when you're ready. But if you want something now, piercings you can take out and your body heals like nothing happened."

She turned slowly, eyebrows raised in curiosity once more. "Like a cartilage?"

His head wobbled from side to side in thought. "Yeah, like that. Except maybe a septum, a monroe, medusa, nipple, smiley-I don't really think you'd go for a spacer, but even a nose ring or…"

He continued listing off piercings, and with each new term Regina tensed. What the hell was a medusa? And what on earth would possess someone to pierce their cheek?

"...third eye—"

"A third eye?" She gasped.

"Yeah." He thumbed the middle of his forehead. "Some people even get their corset pierced and weave ribbon through it."

"Why—" she stopped herself and shook her head. To each their own. "I think a piercing would be preferable."

"Great!" He clapped his hands on his knees and stood up, directing her to sit on a table by the back where he washed his hands at the sink there. "How well can you handle pain?"

"Pretty well." She dropped her purse beside her and scooted onto the paper-covered table.

He snapped gloves onto his hands and retrieved a piercing needle. "And which piercing would you like?"

* * *

Adrenaline rushed through Regina as she and Genie exited the shop. She had done it. She had gotten a piercing. A rather...risqué one that even she couldn't believe had occurred, but as she readjusted her pants and shirt and tucked a cleaning solution under her arm, she knew it was a choice  _she_  had made. It invigorated her.

Genie lit a cigarette and took a long drag, offering her a hit before she turned it away. "You seriously came here by yourself?"

"I'm heading back now."

"Where's your car?"

"I walked."

He blew out smoke behind him and motioned forward. She followed easily. "That's not very smart. You're staying in a hotel then?"

"It sounds like a lure for you to kill me."

"I could have done that when I had a needle in my hand," he chided easily. "But I'd probably be the prime suspect, and if your friend found out, I'm pretty sure she would torture me a lot worse than what I could ever do."

She laughed not disagreeing and contemplated just bidding him goodnight and making her way back to the hotel, but for some reason, she wasn't frightened. "Yes, we're at a hotel by the highway."

"I'll walk you."

Over the last half hour where he pierced her body, they had talked. It had a soothing effect on her not to think about a needle piercing through her skin, and the fact that she had exposed herself in every sense of the word went away when Genie started talking about his two kids at home, going so far as showing her a portrait of them on his chest over his heart. Genie, originally from Kansas, had wound up in South Carolina because of a relationship didn't last. Lucky for him, he claimed, since during his down days he would sketch and pierce on the side until he found a job at a tattoo parlour two towns over and decided to make his own name. He set up a life here with a family despite the fact that his tattooed skin didn't scream respectable father and husband. Regina, in kind, revealed her mission: their road trip down to Tallahassee and the whirlwind adventure they had been on trying to get there. Despite his youth, he was easy to talk to and quite understanding, so when he led them back to the main road, Regina wasn't worried that he'd mug her.

"We're at the Days Inn," she provided as they passed the shops she had entered earlier.

He nodded as they walked in companionable silence, and when he bid her goodnight at the entrance of the lobby, she smiled and promised she'd come to him if she ever gained the courage of getting a tattoo. He laughed and headed back toward his shop, leaving Regina nearly giddy as she walked through the silent lobby.

A lone guard was manning the desk, and he greeted her happily as she walked past him, shuddering as the fabric of her clothes rubbed against her new piercing. She blushed when she thought about it, and though she had initially been hesitant to ask about it, Genie reassured her that women loved it. It certainly felt pleasant with every sway of her hips. She entered the elevator, humming along to the muzak before she reached her floor and stepped out. It was already one in the morning, and if she was going to be driving the rest of the way to Tallahassee, she'd need her rest.

She opened the door to their room quietly, the keycard beeping her entrance. Silently slipping off her flats, she removed her vest and pulled her bra off from under her tank. The button of her jeans were giving her problems with each shift, so she leaned over to turn on the lamp beside the bed, but when she found the bed empty and unmade, her pulse picked up.

"Emma?" She called out instinctively, foregoing the task of stripping to find her. "Emma, where are you?"

Weaving around the blonde's duffel and the hastily kicked off flats and shoes, Regina stuck her head into the washroom. It was dark, and the door was clearly open, but she turned the light on anyway, disappointed to find it empty. She was out of the washroom in a flash and got to her purse to fish out her cellphone. Dread filled her when she discovered the battery had died, and the screen was black. She found her charger in her backpack quickly and plugged it in, but despite having some juice, it needed more than just power to be usable.

"Come on," she growled to it, needing it to turn on now so she could find Emma. The empty battery with a sliver of red just stared back at her mockingly.

It was an agonizing fifteen minutes as she glared at her phone to come alive, but when it did and the screen faded from the charging screen to her home screen, a picture of herself with Emma wrapping her arms around her neck, she thanked the heavens and quickly pressed her phone app finding nine missed calls and a voicemail. All were clearly from Emma, and she bypassed listening to the message when she knew it would be Emma demanding to know where she was. She dialed the blonde herself.

It rang once, twice, three times, then went straight to voicemail.

"Oh, now who's not picking up?" She yelled at the picture of Emma in her contact list, the blonde in a cowboy hat and aviators. She dialed once more, and just when she thought it was going to go to voicemail, Emma picked up.

" _Where are you?_ " She all but yelled.

"Where are  _you?_ " Regina hissed back.

"No no no, don't you turn this on me. I went out to find you."

"I left a note."

Suddenly the lock beeped, and the blonde entered, her phone still pressed to her ear and her green eyes lighting in fury. She ended the call and used it to point at Regina accusingly. "No you didn't."

Wordlessly, Regina stood from her spot on the bed and sauntered over to the desk in front of their bed. She picked up her note and held it out defiantly. Emma's jaw opened and closed, but her eyes were still as angry as when she arrived. "You just put that there," she accused.

"Yes, Emma. I put that there to make you look like a fool." Turning from her, Regina continued to strip out of her jeans, tugging them over her hips and down her legs.

"You can't just leave in the middle of the night," Emma continued to badger, moving to stand in front of Regina. "What if something had happened to you? Why the hell did you go anywhere?"

"I was being spontaneous."

"You were being an idiot." At Regina's glare, Emma crossed her arms over her chest and refused to back down. "You were."

" _Puedes relajarte un segundo?_ " Regina muttered more to herself as she continued her task of stripping out of her jeans. Now that she knew Emma was safe, the exhilaration of the night returned to her full force.

"I don't know what that means, but you're in trouble. You-you're—no more road trip for you. We are going home."

Regina laughed and paused with her sleep shorts clutched in her hand. Shaking her head, she slowly pulled them on, gasping breathily at the movement. When she straightened, her hands on her hip, she arched a challenging eyebrow. "Let me say it in a language you can understand then.  _Alm-cay or-yay it-shay._ "

The blonde narrowed her eyes, and even though it was late and she probably shouldn't be pushing Emma's buttons, Regina couldn't help it. Oh how the tables have turned. Emma got over the momentary flummox and marched over to the brunette. "Don't tell me to calm down, and you are so not allowed to be making jokes right now, Regina. That was—"

Regina's eyes brightened in giddy realization. " _Irresponsible?_ "

"Stupid!" Emma threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. "That was so stupid. You could have gotten mugged-or-or-worse. You don't know where we are! I didn't know where you were. You could have been kidnapped and I would have seen you on an episode of Dateline."

" _So irresponsible._ " Regina laughed to herself as she slid into bed and eyed Emma to do the same. The blonde just glared at her for several minutes before growling and jumping on the spot petulantly. "You'd have been proud of me."

"I would have smacked you over the head," Emma grumbled, kicking off her sneakers and sweats then nearly tearing through her button up in flustered aggravation.

"How about you draw me naked, and we call it even?"

" _No._ " Emma growled and moved to pull back her side of the blanket.

"I went to a bar," Regina said languidly, stretching out as she watched Emma pause and gawk at her.

"Oh god, you did number two, didn't you?"

"Thought about it," Regina admitted, crossing her legs demurely with a knowing smile slowly gracing her features.

"Then what did you do?" Emma stopped halfway into getting into bed and eyed Regina curiously.

The smirk grew on Regina's face as the brunette snuggled into bed, turning away from Emma purposely as she thought about the last few hours. It certainly had been irresponsible of her to sneak out of the room without really notifying Emma. Stupid, even. But it had absolutely been worth it. She squeezed her thighs and winced at the pleasurable pain of her new piercing, one she was sure even the likes of Emma Swan would think twice about getting. Damn anyone who said Regina Mills never tried anything new or adventurous. Tonight proved that.

She smiled contently, letting her thoughts smooth out into blissful dreams when she felt the bed dip beside her. She had enough wakefulness about her to turn her head upwards and smirked at Emma's frown. Pale arms snaked around her waist and pulled her close, locking her in an embrace like a human cage. "No more gallivanting for you tonight."

Regina laughed as Emma reached over her and blindly shut off the lamp, bringing the room to darkness once more.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer in Chapter One.
> 
> AN: So this was written a while ago, but in the editing stages, my mind decided "Hey, let's add 10,000 more words because they are cutesy in these situations and break it into two chapters instead of just doing a music-montage-like summary!" I hope you don't mind the fluff after the finale-whom-we-shall-not-speak-its-name.
> 
> Awesome cover art done by bookwithrose. Thanks!

They were so close. After five days of being trapped in a car and sketchy motel rooms, they were finally entering Tallahassee. Regina had already called ahead and booked them in a room at a Hilton in Capitol Hill, and in less than an hour's time, she'd be able to say she officially road tripped. In the meantime, Emma had been badgering her since they woke that morning, teasing Regina of her momentarily lapse of judgment by going out the night before, and honestly, Regina wouldn't have done it if it meant avoiding Emma's punishment. Emma may have been the one to get into trouble in their youth, but the odd times it was Regina wreaking havoc, the blonde never let her forget it.

"I will not sneak out again," Emma enunciated, casting a side eye at Regina as the blonde drove along the interstate.

" _ _No voy a escaparme__ ," Regina repeated with a roll of her eyes. She huffed when Emma tilted her head insistently. "I-ay ill-way ot-nay eak-snay ut-ouay gain-ay."

The blonde grinned cheekily. "Now how do you say 'rebellious teen' in Spanish?"

Regina glared before replying. " _Mi mejor amiga es una idiota_."

She frowned with a pout. "I know what that means now."

"Well, repeat after me," Regina grinned. " _Mi mejor amiga es guapisima_."

Emma narrowed her eyes and took a moment to contemplate what Regina might be telling her to say before finally repeating it.

"Oh," Regina pressed a hand to her chest in flattery. "Why thank you."

The blonde shook her head with a smirk. "Ou-yay are-ay ull-fay eff-ouay tee-yay."

" _Soy maravillosa._ "

"You know, you're getting really good at that," Emma complimented. "I could have used that in ninth grade Spanish. What's it been, two months since you started practising?"

"Yes," Regina confirmed in wonder. "I suppose it has been only a couple months. But I only know a little bit more than the basics. It's not like I could head to Cuba and keep up a conversation with the locals."

"You probably could. You don't even need your audio files anymore." Emma nudged her shoulder. "And you know way more than the basics, like when to inflate your ego and probably making fun of me."

"Well," Regina began turning in her seat to face Emma with a coy smile. " _Tu eres perfecta y te quiero._ "

Emma blushed, hiding her reddening cheeks behind a pleased smile. "Yeah, well," she muttered, "I love you too. But if you sneak out in the middle of the night again, I'm telling my mom."

* * *

They had made it. As soon as they passed a Welcome to Tallahassee sign, Emma pulled over and tugged Regina out of the car and over to it. The brunette posed in front of it, demurely so until Emma summoned her inner photographer and told her to "work it!" Regina shook her head and bit her lip before jutting her hip out like a show girl on a game show as Emma snapped pictures of her, but she laughed outright when the blonde pulled out a sign from her trunk. Five days in the same car, and Regina never noticed the bristol board hidden under their bags in the trunk. The blonde hovered over it, adding to it with a permanent marker she pulled out from God knows where before handing it off to Regina with a self-satisfied grin.

_5 days. 1652 miles. 1 journey._

As Emma snapped the pictures, Regina posing with both signs, she released a breath that felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. They had come so far. Literally. Being cooped up in a hot vehicle for hours on end, playing that God awful Tom Cochrane song over and over again, diner food, and roadside assistance the one time Emma insisted their gas could get them to the next town but it barely took them ten miles, all of it had led up to this moment, arriving in Tallahassee just because Regina's finger landed there on the map. Her grin widened as she held the sign with one hand and shot her free hand skyward in a rocker pose. The blonde grinned, and before Regina knew it, Emma was talking to passerbyers and jogging over to Regina. She wrapped am arm around Regina's shoulders and smiled as they took a picture. Thanking the young couple who was their photographer, they leaned their heads together to examine the mini photo shoot they had there.

"I'm framing this for you," Emma promised, pointing to one where Regina was hugging the Tallahassee sign.

The brunette laughed before an idea struck her. She snagged the permanent marker from Emma's back pocket and wrote underneath Emma's count. They stopped a person once more, a teen on a skateboard wearing darker clothes than the weather suggested, and Emma laughed as she was dragged back to the sign, her hands posed out in front of her in a shrug as Regina put on an angry face pretending to reach for Emma's neck with one hand.

_5 days. 1652 miles. 1 journey._

_And I managed not to kill her. Yet._

* * *

For once, they didn't have diner food, which Regina was blissfully ecstatic about. It was one thing to enjoy a cheeseburger and fries on their first day on the road, and maybe even the second day, but the grease was catching up to her, and she was pretty sure she was getting her belly back and a pimple on her chin.

After checking into the hotel, one even nicer than their previous stay, the duo went out to walk the streets. Be it the Florida air or the fact that they had made it to their destination, there was something inspiring and carefree as they travelled down the road. Shirtless joggers passed them as women in their sports bra rollerbladed swiftly by while families with strollers opted on spending the afternoon out and about. Hot sun, clear skies, and palm trees were a pleasant change from the constant stretch of highway and back roads.

On their walk, Emma immediately drew to a food truck, but Regina tugged her away and led her into a restaurant. It may not have been fine dining, but it was refreshing to have a menu that wasn't laminated and splattered in grease stains. Instead, they found themselves in an all you can eat sushi bar, and that was one thing they both would gladly gorge themselves on. Ordering salmon and butterfish sashimi, a few maki rolls, and chicken teriyaki, they ate into near comatose, letting their bodies wind down after the long journey.

Emma held up a wine glass elegantly in the air. "To your first successful road trip."

Regina clinked her glass with Emma's and both took a sip. "I fear it's the first of many."

"Caught the travel bug, did you?"

"Next time, we fly," Regina promised.

"That defeats the purpose of a road trip."

"But it saves me from having to listen to Tom Cochrane on repeat over the stereo." Regina picked up a roll with her chopsticks and dabbed it into Emma's wasabi and soy sauce mix before popping it in her mouth.

"Admit it," the blonde pointed her fork, "you like that song."

Regina rolled her eyes but paused when she tilted her head and stared at Emma's utensil in curiosity. Without saying a word, she scooted out of her booth and into Emma's, handing over the blonde's unwrapped chopsticks. "I'm going to teach you."

"You try every time we get Mr. Chang's Panda Express," the blonde sighed exasperated but obligingly dropped her fork and separated her chopsticks.

"But this time I'm going to succeed.

"Why?"

Regina stared at her intently before a smile graced her lips. Neither realized her hand had been resting hotly on Emma's forearm, her thumb stroking a pattern. "Because you travelled nine- states for me."

"Anyone would do that," Emma mumbled bashfully.

Regina shook her head and squeezed the forearm under her grasp. "You would. I'm lucky to have you."

Green eyes shifted in sudden shy hesitancy before Regina moved her hand from Emma's arm to behind her neck. The move was steadying enough that they stared intently at one another. Regina really was lucky. Friends had always been a fleeting thing in her life. Those grade school friends her naïve self thought would last forever didn't make it past the ninth grade, and with colleges separating people after high school, it was a wonder that she and Emma stayed strong. But they did. And here they were.

Grinning shyly, Regina leaned forward and kissed Emma's cheek. They had done this numerous times before, kissing each other's cheek at Christmas time whenever Emma's mother invited her over for turkey dinner, or even the odd times when they wouldn't see each other for weeks, but this time it felt different. Regina inhaled sharply as her lips connected with warm soft flesh, and her grip on the back of Emma's neck tightened. It was simply the moment, she convinced herself. She was grateful Emma was there, and she couldn't imagine doing this road trip with anyone else. The vulnerability was getting to her that she cleared her throat and directed her gaze fiercely to the chopsticks on hand. "So you hold it like a pencil with your thumb locking both of them into place."

So absorbed was she in teaching Emma that she didn't take in the confused frown on the blonde's face. Confusion not at the chopsticks, but at something else entirely.

* * *

When they had made it to their hotel, bags, cooler, and guitar case strewn over their body like they had just backpacked through Europe, they came across a slight problem that neither acknowledged until it was presented before them.

"We have a room with two doubles or a room with one queen," the concierge offered, examining his database.

"Oh." The two women looked at each other, confusion on their face when they realized they had just been sharing beds the entire trip. They silently communicated with one another, Emma's language involving lots of head bobbing and no meaningful gesture. Regina would have to field this question, and quite honestly, she was getting much too used to waking up with Emma curled around her like a koala bear. The sudden thought that something could happen if they shared a bed filtered into her mind, but they had been sleeping together this entire trip and nothing had happened. Regina wasn't sure if what she was feeling was relief or disappointment. "The one queen bed is fine."

He nodded silently and continued to type away on his computer. While he was distracted, Regina glanced, shyly so, at the blonde before she whispered. "Is that okay with you?"

Emma wrapped her hands around Regina's waist and gave her a firm squeeze. "Yeah, you're my favourite teddy bear."

The brunette laughed and squirmed out of her grasp. "And you insist you're not a cuddler."

"It's not cuddling, it's...making sure you don't sneak out in the middle of the night to go investigate dark alleys."

Regina rolled her eyes but smirked just as the concierge was looking at them questioningly. She straightened and smiled politely as he gave them their keys and directed them to their room.

Although they had made it to Tallahassee, the first night in was dedicated to just that. A quiet night to relax and destress. They promised exploration for tomorrow. But as they got to their room on the twelfth floor and dropped their belongings around the entrance, they stared around their finest room yet and suddenly felt lost.

"Now what?" Emma asked Regina, toeing her shoes off and moving to the ensuite to check out the bed.

"Why are you looking at me?" Regina defended, setting her guitar case in the corner by the kitchenette and her purse on the counter.

"You're the queen of planning."

"And you threw out my itinerary." She could hear blonde chuckle lightly to herself as Regina moved past the entrance to investigate the room. It was homey, seeing as they'd be there for the week. Right by the door was the bathroom with a little powder room with two sinks dividing it from the bedroom. She was pleased the bed could be closed off from the rest of the room should one of them need to rest for the day. As she walked through, Emma was already sitting on the bed, bouncing on it as if testing its abilities. "Is it to your liking, princess?"

"I felt a pea underneath the mattress," the blonde quipped.

Regina snorted and exited into the living room/kitchenette area. A TV was mounted on the wall in front of a coffee table and a couch, and in the corner was a kitchenette complete with sink, microwave, and mini bar. She turned around completely when she spotted the balcony in her peripherals and made her way to it, opening the glass door and letting some air into the room. Two muskoka chairs sat waiting on the balcony, and as she pulled back the screen to step out, a smile twitched across her face. She had no idea what they were going to do here for a week, but God was this view gorgeous.

Towers weren't blocking her view of the horizon like she initially thought when they pulled up into the hotel. Instead, she could see the bustling life of the city below her, and though they were too far from any natural beach, overlooking this city that she never intended to visit that luck of the draw brought her to, was pretty spectacular.

"Can you believe we're actually here?" Emma sidled up beside her, surprising her as she spoke.

"I didn't think we'd actually go through with it," she admitted.

"I've never been to Florida," Emma began. "But maybe we can grab Billy and our future kids and go to Disney."

"You're using our kids as an excuse to go to Disney."

"And they will love me for it," Emma claimed unabashedly, stretching out her hands to prove her point.

"And if our future children would rather spend their time at a petting zoo where one of them keeps chasing around a chicken and tries to give it you?" Regina hypothesized, barely containing her laughter.

Emma frowned. "Then I will walk with the kid who refuses to get off the pony ride."

"Wow," Regina beamed impressed. "You'd rather be around a horse than a bird."

The blonde scoffed. "Think about it, our kid is probably going to be a bookworm, so that problem is solved. But if we have an older kid, I'm totally going to be the fun mom."

"Until they take your car for a joyride and you're yelling their ear off."

"They shouldn't be stealing my car," Emma defended.

"Says the woman who, on more than one occasion, had to steal her father's car in the middle of the night because your pickup backfired too often."

Emma nudged her playfully. "Our kid doesn't have to know that."

Regina let her have the last word as she chuckled quietly to herself, slowly making peace with her lack of fertility and the options Emma had presented her. Adoption and fostering were looking pretty good, but right now, she just wanted to enjoy this moment. The blonde shifted beside her, and Regina looked to see Emma holding up her camera phone in front of them.

"If you drop that over the balcony—"

"I'm not gonna drop it." Regina pressed her head against Emma's, waiting for the blonde to snap the picture. As soon as it was saved in her library, she grinned. "Road trip completed."

"It only took five days."

"Hey, imagine if you had landed on California, or if you were using a globe to map out where we were going to go."

"Because I walk around with a globe in my back pocket," the brunette sassed.

"Is that why your ass is so firm?"

"You say that like you don't cop a feel when you're cuddling in your sleep."

"First off, it's not cuddling, and second, it's for scientific purposes."

Regina nodded amusedly. "And what are your results?"

Emma didn't bother hiding the appreciative once over she gave her friend. "Your Latina side is  _very_ good to you."

Regina snorted and pushed at the blonde's shoulders before they settled once more.

They still had a quite a few hours left of their day but actually arriving in Tallahassee felt like a relief off their shoulders. No more driving from state to state or bunking for the night in a new motel. They could just relax and enjoy the downtime in the Florida state. Her head fell against Emma's shoulder as she exhaled, letting the white noise of the city dull her senses. Then she felt Emma's head against her own, and her eyes closed briefly as she let the feeling set. Dr. Hopper had been right when he said breaking out of her comfort zone would do her good. This freedom she felt being here was the same high she got whenever she rode Rocinante through the pasture and jumped high with him over the hurdles. They weren't in some South American country relaxing in an all-inclusive stay neither were they backpacking through Europe, but getting away from the monotony of what her life had become was a step in the right direction.

She felt Emma shift then fingers lace with her own as the blonde straightened beside her. She glanced up to see Emma tilting her head toward the room. "Come on. Let's go plan the adventures for the week."

* * *

It turned out, much to Regina's dismay and Emma's amusement, that there wasn't a huge amount of entertainment they could busy themselves with for the week. No clubs or lounges were open until the weekend, and the one gay club Emma preferred them to go to was only open on Fridays. They weren't in Orlando, so Universal and Disney were out of the question, even though Emma's eyes brightened at the prospect. Regina made a mental note to take her for her birthday, by plane most definitely. Miami was nearly seven hours away, so the beaches and boardwalk felt like in a different state entirely, though Daytona was slightly more manageable at four hours. Luckily they found a beach down in St. George that they planned on spending a day at, but for the meantime, the pair decided to get to know the area and relax.

The first day was spent in true tourist style with Emma and Regina sleeping in until 10 am. More so, Regina slept in while Emma woke at her usual hour and whispered in her ear that she'd be going for a run. The brunette had mumbled something about not gallivanting, making Emma chuckle before she kissed her cheek and departed, and when the blonde returned and both had showered and dressed, they drove the short distance from their hotel to Governor's Square. The shopping center was large and thankfully not as busy as they traversed through the stores on the Monday afternoon. So used to the small town boutiques in Storybrooke or the plazas in Augusta that Regina shook with excitement as she dragged Emma from store to store. It was when Emma made a comment about bringing more clothes back with them than they had come with did Regina realize one thing: she had packed with the intention of staying in New York for a weekend. She may have had the tendency to overpack, but even she couldn't predict the number of underwear she'd have to bring for a week-long adventure.

So, for the first time in their lives, after a long day of shopping and having a late dinner, Emma and Regina found themselves in a laundromat.

It was strange for both of them, lugging the contents of their luggage and duffel into the 24-hour laundromat wearing their sweats. Well, Emma's sweats, as Regina's sleep shorts were a little too short to be seen in public. Aside from a young man in his mid-twenties, folding his clothes on a far table with headphones over his beanie, Emma and Regina had the place to themselves.

"It's like we're in a sitcom," Emma announced with glee as she shoved their combined clothing into one washer. They didn't have enough whites to warrant separating them, and Emma promised if any of Regina's clothes stained she'd replace them herself.

Regina suppressed her chuckle though Emma noticed she didn't disagree. "We don't get out very much, do we?"

"Hey I travel." Emma nudged the washer closed with her hip and held her hand out for the quarters Regina exchanged a bill for. She deposited them one by one before shoving the dispenser shut and starting the industrial machine. "I just never had a reason to come to a laundromat."

The washer whirred to life and Emma settled in a plastic chair, waiting for Regina to do the same. The brunette pulled up one of her own and lifted her legs so they lay against the empty space on Emma's chair. "We can tell your mother our first official act of road tripping consisted of doing laundry."

"No one told you to point to a southern state."

"You told me to close my eyes and pick!"

"And you could have landed on Hawaii," the blonde teased.

"We definitely would have been doing laundry there," Regina mused.

"That's an idea."

"Hawaii?"

"Another Cayman-type of thing?"

Regina grinned and tilted her head thoughtfully. "Is that Rocky Road Volume Two?" She could already had Emma's disclaimer before the blonde confirmed her assumption and repeated it.

* * *

"Last question," Regina prefaced as she made a note on the notepad of her phone. She picked up the magazine she had found half an hour earlier after they were done putting their clothes in the dryer and scanned the page for the last question to the age-old question of Who is Your Female Celebrity Girlfriend? "Which hair colour do you prefer on a date? Blonde, brunette, redhead, or all of the above."

"Brunette."

"You certainly have a type," Regina muttered to herself as she noted the blonde's answer. "Let's see, your celebrity girlfriend is," she paused flipping to the next page. "Nina Dobrev."

"Who?" Emma eyed her skeptically before leaning over to see her results.

"Nina loves animals, yoga, exotic adventures, and you." Regina nudged the blonde playfully as Emma wrinkled her nose. "She's a girly girl with a heart of gold, but look out, she's also a huge prankster. She'll keep you on her toes, that's for sure, but she's always on her feet, kicking butt at work and also loves athletic adventures."

"Who is this girl?" Emma asked already pulling out her phone to look her up.

Regina shrugged. "I don't imagine your girlfriend will be pleased you don't know who she is."

"How is it you got Mila Kunis? That's not fair." Emma made a face at her phone. "What the hell is Vampire Diaries?"

"You're just jealous." At that, their dryer beeped and Regina stood, tossing the magazine onto the folding table and moving the wheeled cart over to their dryer. The young man with the headphones had long gone, but a mother and her seven-year old had popped in, using a washer and leaving momentarily.

Emma stood and helped take the fresh clothes out of the machine. "I could have gotten Charlize Theron. Oh! Eva Mendes. Was she on the list? Or Lucy Lawless."

The brunette snorted as she wheeled their clothes back to the table and slowly began folding them, letting Emma rant about all her prospective celebrity girlfriends.

* * *

The following day, the duo packed up the car once more with a restocked cooler, towels, and a change of clothes. Emma had to bite her tongue when Regina emerged from the bathroom, the right side of her hair pinned back with a clip and her body bare, save for a white bathing suit top and the bottoms covered by a thin transparent beach wrap, black but for the large steely blue flowers decorating the material. She must have been staring too hard for Regina chuckled to herself, and as she returned her eyes back up to her friend's face, there was amusement shining in brown eyes. As soon as Regina slipped on a tank top, Emma wordlessly picked up Regina's guitar case along with her sketch books and tool box before they headed out of the building and made the two hour trek to St. George Island.

The sky was cloudless by the time they reached the beach, and thankfully, the area quiet. Regina pulled the bug into the lot only to see five other cars parked there. The sun beat down on them, adding an almost uncomfortable mugginess to the humid air as they slipped out of the bug. Already Emma was shedding her wifebeater and tucked it into her bag, leaving her in her Batman bathing suit top, a gift from Regina two Christmases ago, and when Emma saw the bottoms, she knew why. A piece right by the edge of her rump was cut out leaving a perfect spot to tan the Batman symbol onto her butt cheek. Now if Emma didn't burn this time, this would be perfect weather to get a little colour. Regina ducked into the back and removed the small cooler, carrying Emma's art supplies on top while the blonde removed the guitar case, their shared bag, and a last minute decision had her grabbing the blanket from her trunk.

It was no Miami with an overly crowded beach and runners avoiding tourists along the boardwalk, but as they carried their belongings over the long wooden bridge from the lot to the beach, they found the quietness soothing, like their own little slice of paradise. The beach was expansive running down the length for a few miles with rows and rows of identical beach houses lining the shore, but as they stepped off the bridge, passing by the sand dunes and the covered pavilions meeting the beach line, they could feel the faint breeze of the water against the humidity and see a few families and couples enjoying the sun. Further down they saw a man fishing, and closest to the shore was a couple and a young child, the little girl already getting a head start on her sand castle.

"Not bad," Emma commented, adjusting her hold on their belongings and stepping onto the sand. Regina nodded her agreement. She wasn't usually a fan of beaches with sand dunes, finding the wildlife next to the water a little too close for comfort, but after wading in a lake whose water was much murkier than this, she wasn't about to turn away the hot day in the sun with clear water.

They set up camp a few feet away from the shore, still on the warm sand but close enough that the coolness of the water provided a refreshing breeze. The women flipped out the blanket and laid the cooler, guitar case, and bag on top. They needed this, a day out doing nothing but soaking up the sun. With the lack of shade around the area, there was little they could do to cool off other than dipping their feet into the cool water. Regina had wrinkled her nose when they approached the shore, both having stripped down to their swimwear and covered their bodies in sunscreen, as she stepped on the mosaic of shells embedded in damp sand.

"Why are you making that face?" Emma teased, easily walking further into the water with her back facing the horizon.

"It feels dirty," Regina admitted, her toes squishing in the sand. An incoming wave attacked her knees, and she shrieked in surprise.

The blonde laughed. "You were naked in a lake four days ago, Regina."

"Shhhhh," she hushed, looking around at the nearby family with the small child and a couple of females further down from their resting spot to see if they had heard.

"And you were god knows where when we were in South Carolina, which you're still in trouble for, by the way, but you're worried about rocks between your toes? Come on, it's just like the beach at home.

"Oh splendid, there'll be carp swimming around my thighs," Regina quipped.

Emma approached her, holding her hand out for her to take, and as soon as Regina's fingers clasped with her own, she led them further into the water. The earth beneath their feet smoothed out from the prickling rocks and seashells until it was just cool, pliant sand digging between their toes. Further ahead they could see a couple of young men tossing a football to one another as the waves grew along the horizon. When it finally reached the women, it died down enough that the water crashed against their waist.

"See," Emma grinned swinging their joined hands back and forth in time with the waves, "no carps."

They waded further outward until the water was at their chest, hopping from foot to foot as they caught the wave and chatted, simply enjoying one another company. They swam for an hour before they retreated back to their towels. Regina commandeered the middle of the blanket, offering a water bottle from the cooler to the blonde while Emma sat near the edge, facing the water and her legs digging into the sand. Regina had pulled her guitar from her case and draped it over her body and strummed lightly, serenading their day at the beach with a little bit of Bob Dylan.

Emma, however, was determined to get some colour in despite having a tendency to burn. The only time her usually pale skin took on a hint of olive was during a solo trip to Mexico. She returned with a killer tan and tourist beads in her hair that Regina openly laughed at, but the blonde couldn't help but notice that maybe, just maybe, Regina's eyes had lingered on her then. She pulled the cooler behind her back, using it to prop up her torso as the sun beat down on her and the sounds of Bob Dylan filled the air.

She must have been relaxing too much since the next thing she knew, she was waking up, completely lying back on the blanket while a light giggling sounded in front of her. She tried to move when she realized her legs felt stiff, and when she sat up, Regina was by her side pushing her stomach back down.

"Don't move."

"Why?" Emma was still disoriented, and as Regina helped her back into a sitting position, propping her up with the cooler once more, Emma could see what had Regina in giggles.

Regina had buried her legs. No, it wasn't some obscene prank to give Emma a sand penis, but Regina had buried her legs in the shape of a large mermaid fin. Starting from Emma's waist were curvaceous hips, thinning out as they reached the bottom of her feet, before the wide fin curled out like a double sword fishtail.

"What did you do?" Emma asked confused and still half-asleep.

"I'm almost done," Regina announced with glee as she placed a foot on opposite sides of Emma's fin and bent over to add scales to her creation.

"When did you do this?" The blonde was more amused than upset. Quite honestly, burying someone was something she would do, and never thought Regina had it in her for that kind of playfulness unless coerced by Emma herself.

"You fell asleep on the cooler," Regina explained, using her fingers to add semi-circles onto the tail in a scaly pattern, "and your hair draped onto your side because you have a tendency to face right when you sleep, and I thought you looked like a mermaid."

"So you gave me a tail."

Regina's only response was a proud grin as she descended lower, adding to her pattern.

"You are way too proud of yourself."

"You look amazing."

"I always do."

Regina flashed her a wink as she got to the fins, using four fingers to rake down the ends for texture. Emma was pretty sure both her legs had fallen asleep, and her lower back was starting to hurt from the awkward angle she had slept in, but as Regina surveyed her art, Emma couldn't find it in her to move and break the fin. Instead she twisted her body and moved the cooler beside her like a side table then moved to the left to grab her art book. It was just barely out of reach, and Regina scolded her for cracking the sand at her waist. The brunette picked it up for her, and Emma spent the time sketching a similar scene for Rocky Road. Not that these characters were based off of them. Any likeness was entirely a coincidence, of course.

When Regina stood, brushing the sand off of her hands then examining her work with a nod, Regina strut toward the blanket and plopped down beside Emma. "Welcome back to the waking world, Sleeping Beauty."

"Shouldn't I be Ariel?" Emma didn't look up from her drawing, letting her hair fall over her face like drapery.

Regina smirked and helped pull her hair back over her shoulder. "More like Flounder."

The blonde looked up with a glare. "How am I supposed to get up?"

"Perhaps you can trade your voice to Ursula for some legs," Regina quipped before pulling out her camera from their bag and snapping pictures.

"Seriously, Regina, what is this? Made of cement?"

The brunette just laughed and stood up then, capturing a suddenly glowering Emma on film. "You told me to be spontaneous."

"What if I have to pee?"

She cackled and shrugged, stepping backwards towards the water. They were close enough to the waves that Regina looked at the incoming tide at her feet and Emma two feet away with a mischievous grin.

"I will throw you and your camera in the water if you even think about it," the blonde threatened with a raised finger in the air.

Regina's smirk deepened, and with a side of her foot, she kicked at the incoming wave and splashed at Emma, trapped there and forced to flinch at the droplets.

"You're dead." In an instant, the fin broke as Emma stormed up. Her sandy legs chased after Regina, and the brunette barely had enough time to shriek before she ducked under Emma's grasp, dropped her camera on top of her bag, and felt strong arms wrap around her waist, dropping them into the water in a pile of laughter.

* * *

By Wednesday, the couple, used to the adventure of travelling from state to state, not knowing where they'd end up for the night, and singing off key to 80's rock, was unbelievably and mind-numbingly bored.

Emma, strangely enough, was the one who had a more organized routine than Regina's usual drill sergeant regiment. There were no more 6 AM wake up calls for the brunette, nor was there the need to carefully apply her make-up. Instead, Regina slept. The blonde continued to wake up at the crack of dawn, forcing herself out of bed and away from the warmth that was Regina as the brunette curled around her. She always teased Emma that the blonde was the cuddler, but look who succumbed to their inner koala, Emma thought with a smirk. She would return, most times having pilfered the complimentary breakfast served in the hotel's conference room, finding new and creative ways to rouse the brunette from sleep.

The first day she had left a plate of bacon on the bed by Regina's nose, hoping the smell would rouse her awake. Unfortunately it just got the better of Emma, and the blonde finished it, waiting another half hour before her friend woke naturally. The second day, Emma, in all her sweaty glory, pulled back the sheets and pounced on her, giving her a full body hug that had Regina shrieking in a mixture of fear and disgust.

Today, however, Regina was already up by the time Emma returned from her run, two plates of eggs, sausage, and waffles precariously balanced in the crook of one arm. The brunette was on the balcony, seated at the edge of a muskoka chair as she strummed a tune on her guitar. Her eyes closed and the sun a glowing halo around her, Emma took a moment just to appreciate the sight. As if on autopilot, she settled the plates down in the kitchenette, glancing up at Regina ever so often as if to make sure she was still there, and when she found her sketch book, one she'd later realize was dedicated to the muse in question, she began to sketch.

She didn't realize how much time had passed until there was the beginning of a charcoal replica of the brunette on the page, hair tucked behind her right ear while the other side draped down her left like a veil. Her lips tilted upwards ever so slightly, and her eyelids were partially closed, feeling the music she was making from the twinging of the strings.

"You're drawing me a lot."

Emma jumped, her pencil making a harsh mark against the paper. Luckily not anywhere near where she was drawing, but a heavy line all the same.

" _Jesus_." Emma clutched her chest, finding the brunette just behind her, her lips close to her ear.

Regina smirked and brought the spoon from her coffee cup up to her mouth and licked it clean. "Regina," she quipped.

Emma rolled her eyes and worked at getting the heavy mark off the page. "You're my inspiration." And how true was that, she thought bitterly to herself.

Regina's fingers played at the edge of the book waiting for Emma to finish erasing the mark. "Can I see?"

" _No._ " She shut the book closed on their fingers and stood, sliding it behind her and out of Regina's reach.

Regina's eyebrow rose in surprise, but nothing beat the parted lips that told Emma she was hurt, just a little bit. Emma bit her lip and focused on the sparse tiling in the kitchenette.

"Why can't I look?"

"It's not done yet," she explained lamely.

"That's never stopped you before."

"Later," she promised. "I'll show you later."

"Okay," Regina conceded, pulling her hand away and sipping from her coffee. It was a few tense seconds before the brunette placed her cup down and leaned against the sink. "What are we doing today?"

"Shopping?"

"We just went."

"We could go back to the laundromat," Emma enticed with a little shake of her body. "Pretend we're meeting for the first time and bond over our shared love of grey sweats and granny panties."

Regina laughed but pushed her back playfully.

The blonde crossed her arms in thought. "We could get drunk."

Regina tilted her head thoughtfully before setting down her mug. "There's a store across the street."

* * *

So by eleven in the morning, Regina was mixing Kahlua in her coffee while Emma was making good old fashioned screwdrivers, and by two, they were sipping coolers on the couch in a mass of tangled limbs, Emma's phone blasting their 80's playlists as they belted along. Regina's rendition of Proud Mary was too good for words, and Emma was so going to be using the footage of that in the future. The buzz surrounding them had lasted throughout the day when Regina had drunkenly dialled the hotel requesting "linner, or dunch, whichever they served at the hour," and when room service arrived with a confused look on their face and two large pizzas, Regina tipped them as the women continued to get sauced.

The shots broke out after a pizza and a half when Emma desperately tried to get a game of strip poker going. They didn't have cards, and Regina claimed what more was there left to see? With Regina's shirtsleeve button up blouse straining at the third button, Emma wasn't sure which she preferred: naked Regina or just north of indecent. When the brunette leaned over the table to toss her crust, Emma decided both. Definitely both. There were no Twenty Questions, the women knowing every little detail went on in their life, and when Regina playfully suggested Spin the Bottle if Emma was in the mood for juvenile games, the blonde turned a shade of red that wasn't alcohol-induced before the woman fell backwards on the couch laughing at her own joke.

By evening they found themselves in the bedroom ensuite, blanket kicked to the foot of the bed and the forgotten TV on in the living room. A bottle of vodka sat nearly empty on the bedside table as the women lay on top of each other. More like Emma was lying on her stomach, buzzed sketching not necessarily her best decision, but when the muse hit it hit hard. With Regina's head resting on the curve of her lower back as she lay with her guitar on her stomach, sloppily strumming a chord to a make-believe song, Emma was just tempted to draw.

"I'll write you a song when I get better," Regina proudly proclaimed, riffing a tune that was more screech than rhythm.

Emma snorted. Regina could never really handle her alcohol that well and today, despite her drinks, Emma was more on the sober, monitoring side. "And what will it be about?"

"My green eyed girl," the brunette answered. "It'll be a hit."

"I think Van Morrison already beat you on that one."

"No, I'm certain I'm the first person to come up with the concept." Her fingers plucked a two-tone tune that didn't remotely sound like any type of song as she sang the beginning verses of Brown Eyed Girl.

Emma was laughing over her page and turned her head over her shoulder to watch the rendition. Somewhere between the chorus and the last verse, Regina started singing in Spanish. Whether her lyrics were right or if it was even Spanish was up in the air, but the blonde was enjoying the scene regardless. Regina drifted off, sliding her guitar onto the floor by the bed and turning onto her stomach to squirm neatly on top of the blonde. "You're laughing," she said with a pout.

"I'm applauding you."

"You're making fun of me," Regina insisted, her cheek right next to Emma's.

"And you," the blonde laughed turning her head so their faces nearly crashed, "are incredibly drunk right now."

"I can hold my own," Regina boasted, though she held a palm out in caution, and feeling her tense on her back, Emma prayed to god that Regina wasn't about to barf on her. Instead, the brunette let out a little belch and laughed at herself. "I am fine."

"Ooo-kay, muffin. Whatever you say."

Regina settled more firmly on her back, her chin at Emma's shoulder as her legs tangled between pale, smooth ones. Her eyelids seemed to be drifting shut before they caught sight of something past the blonde, and she tilted her head to the side in curiosity. "Who is that?"

Emma turned to see her gaze set on her sketchbook, and even in her more than buzzed state, her eyes widened when she put a hand over the drawing. It was too late. Regina reached over her and wrestled with her palm against the page. "Who are you drawing?"

"No one." She tossed her pencil aside and used both hands to pry Regina's away from hers, but her position had her at a disadvantage.

Regina sat up, straddling her lower back, before she swiftly stole the sketchbook entirely and retreated to the head of the bed. Emma rolled onto her back quickly to sit up, but it was too late. The brunette's face was already furrowed in concentration as she stared intently at the drawing. "Who's the little boy?"

There was no need for Regina to turn the book back to her. It wasn't like Emma hadn't spent the better part of a month consumed by sounds of a little boy's laughter only to wake up in the middle of the night and let her hand sketch what eventually became one of the many drawings in front of her. A little boy, four in this picture, was wearing a disheveled tuxedo and his bow tie hanging loose around his neck. His chubby cheeks were stained with what looked like icing and stray food, and his shaggy hair nearly fell over sparkling eyes. It was amazing, really, that even on a greyscale it looked like it had been gelled in place before mischief got in the way.

"He's cute," Regina commented, turning the book back to her and flipping through its pages.

Emma scrambled to sit beside her, but with every turn of the page, and every half-finished drawing of Regina staring back at them, she knew it was only a matter of time. Regina stopped at a page and froze. Shit.

On the page was the beginning sketch of two figures sitting cross-legged on the ground, the smaller figure in the lap of the other. Their faces weren't quite done, but it was obvious by the cropped hair on the female and the shaggy mop on the child who they were, the guitar around both of them leaving nothing to the imagination.

Regina looked up then, curious for answers. "Emma?"

"I was just drawing," Emma explained lamely, running fingers through an already messy bun.

"Is this...?" She glanced down at the page again before flipping back to the little boy in his messy tux. "Is this our kid?"

"It's not Billy," Emma tried to chuckle. She rushed to explain when Regina looked up again. "Please don't be mad. I just—we talked about it so much, and this kid wouldn't leave my mind."

"That's Henry," Regina stated putting two and two together.

"Yeah," she answered in a whisper. "I mean, it doesn't mean you carried him or I did—not that that's a problem, it's just, I kept thinking about it and you know what happens when I think too much."

Regina flipped determinedly then, and Emma secretly wished the bed would just open up and swallow her whole so she wouldn't have to suffer from anymore embarrassment. Regina's expression was unreadable, and she knew how Regina felt about having kids, or the lack of having one, and these pictures, they couldn't have been helping her process the still fresh fact. The brunette stopped on one with little Henry on the ground, sitting in his t-shirt and overalls and flying a Tonka truck in the air, but standing beside him wrapped up in her phone was a teenage girl, earbuds dangling around her neck and the same oversized plaid shirt Emma was wearing tied around her waist.

"Who's that?" Regina asked pointing to the girl before scrunching up her nose at the girl's tank. "And why is she a fan of Kiss?"

"They're a good band," Emma defended before quieting suddenly. She shrugged and played with sheets they lay on. "And we were talking about foster kids or adopting."

"You mapped out our lives?"

"Not mapped," Emma argued. "What if I drew them while incredibly drunk?"

Regina scoffed lightly and motioned to the detail of the girl's hair, every wisp visible as it sat in a messy bun on top of her head. Emma's drunk drawing usually involved more harsh edges and less care.

"I'm a  _really_ good artist," the blonde tried with a squint of her eye.

"I know," Regina agreed quietly. She glanced up, hesitantly so, and Emma wasn't sure if there was still a buzz running through them from the alcohol or just an intensity in the air as chocolate eyes searched over her features for an answer. "You've thought of us?"

"You're my best friend."

"That's not an answer."

The blonde rolled a shoulder as she willingly flipped through the book. Sketched Reginas dancing across the cardstock, several of Henry and even one as the boy in his later years, his mop of hair as distinct as the one dimple Emma decided to give him on the left side of his cheek, and the teenage girl in various phases of teenage rebellion until there was one of Regina and the girl, Regina braiding her hair in a tamed pleat.

Emma sighed. Hopefully come tomorrow this conversation would just be one mind-splitting hangover. Or it wouldn't? She wasn't sure which one she was rooting for. "Sometimes," she finally admitted. "Yeah. A lot when we were younger. Especially in college. And all the time now."

Her heart beat rapidly as she mentally smacked herself.  _So only forever, huh Swan?_  Her hands shook as Regina continued analyzing the drawings, and when the brunette unconsciously leaned against her, both going through the pages like some old family album, Emma wasn't sure if she should find that to be a good sign.

With a close of the book, Regina handed it back to her, her eyelids drooping as the alcohol took hold. "Me too."

"What?" Emma sat up, nearly toppling the brunette over, but Regina just laughed to herself at the action.

"Just imagine," the drunken woman continued, putting her hand out as if envisioning it in front of them on an imaginary screen, "we could have already had our kids by now. And no birds. And a goat. And I could kiss you whenever I wanted."

Paralyzed, Emma didn't take in when Regina kissed her cheek then dropped her head on Emma's shoulder. Emma could feel her slipping away as the alcohol took hold of her, but those damned images of a future with Regina, of a  _family_ with her, kept taunting her more than just drawings on the page as the brunette sighed and knocked out for the night.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer in Chapter One.
> 
> AN: Ridiculously late, I know! I hope the length makes up for it. In regards to the chapter, there is a gay-friendly club in the Tallahassee area called Relapse at Rehab, but I changed the name of it and what the interior looks like for the sole purposes of making a pun. Also, follow me on Twitter and say hi!

Emma was blessed enough that she didn't hangover, but at the moment, she was sorely wishing for an excuse to write off last night and forget it. She could fake it, maybe. A full day of drinking was sure to leave her with a pounding migraine, but the pain in her head wasn't coming from alcohol-induced dehydration. It was probably due to the fact that she lay awake most of the night, replaying the last few minutes of the evening before Regina fell asleep on her. Literally. Emma had to rotate her body like a Tetris piece as the brunette held onto her, a light snoring tickling her neck and ear, before she successfully laid them down on the bed. The TV was still on, and she was pretty sure there were empty alcohol bottles littered around their room like they had just partied with the Rolling Stones, but all Emma could think of were Regina's words: _"And I could kiss you whenever I wanted."_

What did that mean?

Obviously Emma knew what it meant. Regina wanted to kiss her. The anticipation made her heart pound. But did she want to kiss her now or was it only when they were growing up? Regina could have even been teasing. They shamelessly flirted and beat around the bush. This wasn't any different.

But Emma hoped it was.

She hoped that maybe they were on the same page for this, that when they got back home and they were sleeping over at each other's place it wasn't in the most platonic sense of the word, and that when they had Girl's Night and would spend their Friday evening and most of Saturday alternating between movies and shows that it could be called Date Night. Regina stirred beside her, her warm breath tickling Emma's collarbone, and the blonde adjusted her grip on her more firmly so. She was way over her head.

All she had to do was wake Regina and ask her. It was as simple as that. Ask her if she meant it. Ask her if she still wanted it. Because all she needed was one clear sign that Regina said yes, and she'd be ready to put in their application to foster. Or have a date night ready, baby steps first, Emma, baby steps.

But then something happened that made Emma's eyes widen so big they could have bulged out of her head.

Regina's hips, wrapped around her legs, were moving. Sensually. Against her thigh.

It was okay, Regina was just adjusting herself in her sleep, Emma desperately tried to convince herself. She did it all the time. You know, when sleeping on her back all night got to be too much. Her breath was shaky when Regina did it again, more insistently, and the blonde purposely looked up to the ceiling trying to find some form of distraction that took her away from the very obvious heat she could feel between Regina's thighs.

_Dead puppies,_ Emma instantly thought, _vomit—oh! Killian. Killian was a good one._ Think about Killian, and everything would be goo—

Regina's thighs squeezed against her as she thrust her hips forward unconsciously, and there was no mistaking what her friend was doing right against her thigh.

"Holy shit," Emma whispered out loud, paralyzed once more. She had to wake her up from whatever sex dream she was having. A fleeting thought had her stilling her mission. What if it was about her? _Focus, Emma!_ With careful precision, Emma squirmed beneath her grip, holding her breath when Regina's thrusts seem to be following her, but what made her stop was a sound she'd memorize forever.

_Regina moaned._ Long and breathy and right in Emma's ear that the blonde should have pulled away like fire, but instead her own core was heating, and _oh fuck, fuck, fuck._

" _Regina._ " Emma moved away swiftly, nearly palming Regina's face in the process. If she didn't get some distance, they were going to have a way longer and no doubt more awkward talk.

The sleeping woman groaned beside her waking from whatever dream had kept her so at peace, more or less, and when Emma turned her head, she could see the brunette squeeze her eyes shut and bare her teeth at an invisible pain despite the fact the blackout curtains were drawn.

"Regina?" The blonde nudged the woman's hip. "You okay?"

" _God, no._ " She released Emma completely from her hold and shoved her face into the pillow below her, curling her head into her chest with a groan.

Emma was up in an instant, ignoring the numb stinging in her own brain that prodded her to pepper the hungover brunette with questions in order to steal a water bottle from their fridge. They'd have to pick up aspirin later but for now Regina needed to hydrate. She made it back into the room, bottle already uncapped, when she noticed how pale the brunette looked.

"Shit." Emma dropped the bottle onto the floor and bent to scoop Regina in her arms. She lifted her easily in a bridal carry and ran to the bathroom, flipping the toilet seat up with her foot in time just as the brunette's stomach gave way. Emma winced but rubbed Regina's back. "You can hold your own, huh?"

"' _m fine,_ " she mumbled before retching into the toilet.

The blonde patted her back reassuringly and stood up to grab a face towel from the powder room, taking a second to dampen it with cold water. She returned just in time for Regina to flush the contents of her stomach down the toilet then watched as she rested her cheek against the porcelain. Emma sat on the floor beside her, dabbing at her sweating forehead to cool her down then grabbed a wad of toilet paper to wipe the sick away from her lips. They definitely wouldn't be having that talk anytime soon.

"Why are you not dead?" Regina grumbled with a grumpy twitch of her nose.

Emma smirked. "Believe me. The smell of your throw up is getting me there."

Regina's lips pulled up, a quip on the tip of her tongue, before she frowned and lifted her head up enough to gag over the lip of the toilet. Emma waited a moment, suddenly remembering the dropped water bottle. "Headache?" She inquired.

"You mean you're not blasting Kiss in my brain right now?"

"I'll save that for the car ride back." She brushed Regina's hair away from her face and used a hair tie around her wrist to pull it back. "I'll be back in a minute, okay?"

Regina nodded mutely, groaning over the toilet. Emma was already leaning over pressing her lips to the hungover woman's forehead before she thought much of it, but Regina was too out of it to notice, and Emma knew know wasn't the time to overanalyze every move she made. So she stood, grabbing her key card and her wallet and made it swiftly to the lobby where the small convenience store was located there, picking up some aspirin and a Powerade then swiping a couple of muffins from the complimentary breakfast. By the time she returned to the room, Regina had managed to grab a towel from the rack and propped her head under it, using it as a pillow as she lay curled up against the bathroom floor.

"Come on, sleepy head," the troubled woman soothed, crouching by the brunette and bringing her head into her lap. When Regina's eyes opened blurrily, Emma grinned and sat her upright enough to touch the aspirin to her lips. It took coaxing, but Regina parted her lips enough that Emma managed to slip two pills in and helped the brunette drink a quarter of the bottle of Powerade.

It was funny how the tables had turned between them, even if it wasn't quite in the direction Emma was hoping for. Certainly not after last night. Usually Regina was the one curling around Emma whenever the blonde was sick, disregarding her snotty nose or high fever to bring a blanket over their heads to block out the garish sunlight from sensitive green eyes. More often than not, she would also make vegetable soup, homemade, and have medicine and fluids ready. All Emma had were a couple of flax seed and blueberry muffins and an energy drink. She played with brown locks of hair curling around Regina's forehead. "Want to go back to sleep?"

Her only response was Regina nodding again against her chest. Emma could probably carry her back to the bed, but if Regina got sick again, they'd be paying damage fees for the sheets for sure. So Emma stayed in the washroom, stroking Regina's back as the sick woman groaned to herself, and Emma promised, later on that day she would ask Regina about last night. Maybe about that dream too. The brunette retched and some spittle stained her shirt. Emma shut her eyes and shook her head. On second thought, maybe one worry at a time.

* * *

"Hey." The blonde reached to pat Regina's thigh hours later when the brunette was well enough to move to the couch and lay her head in Emma's lap. The TV, still on from last night, was tuned into some daytime underdog movie, and both women agreed they'd do some recovery today. After Emma picked up some Chinese food, for which she was still woefully unskilled in mastering chopsticks, the pair sat in their living room, letting the noise of the television lull them into comfort. "When my mom asks what we did on the trip, don't say we day drank."

"Yes, I was going to tell her we did that right after I tell her we went skinny dipping in a lake," Regina sassed and tugged the comforter pilfered from the bedroom closer around her. "I didn't tell her about the time you showed up to my place completely drunk out of your mind after breaking up with whatever-her-name, so why would I tell her now?"

"You are so mad you're hungover and I'm not," Emma snickered.

"Why aren't you?" Regina demanded to know.

"Years of practice," the blonde answered coolly. She tilted her head in thought. "You always hated Lily, didn't you?"

"She..." Regina waved her hand in the air to look for the right word. "Sucked."

Her snicker turned into full blown laughter. "She _sucked_?"

"She wasn't good for you."

"Really?" The blonde questioned more amused than offended. She had been on the receiving end of unsubtle eye rolls from her best friend during the year and a half she had dated Lily, and the brunette still refused to come out to the Rabbit Hole where her ex worked.

"She was…" Regina waved her hand in thought once more. "Vulgar."

"Vulgar," she repeated. "Are you sure you're not drunk still?"

"She swore all the time, and she smoked in my kitchen."

"Literally," the blonde defended. "Her sleeve caught fire on one of your candles."

"She took you out almost every weekend," Regina continued on unphased.

"Dates."

"You called me from jail once because of her."

"Holding," the blonde corrected. "We accidentally walked out of a convenience store already eating the chips."

"And she used to kiss you," Regina finished passionately. "In front of me."

Emma's eyebrows shot up and her heart kicked up. Was that jealousy she could detect? Her posture straightened, determined to make the most out of a subtle interrogation. "Yeah, a lot of my exes did."

"No, she was just…" She waved her hand again, but this time, no suitable insult came to mind. This was very interesting, Emma thought watching her get flustered.

"She was probably one of the only people I dated who I could see myself with for a long time," the blonde dropped nonchalantly.

Regina scoffed. "If you loved her so much why didn't you marry her?"

"She wasn't—" Emma held her tongue. "The One."

"And how do you know who The One is?"

"Well she was my longest relationship," Emma easily supplied. "She's the closest I've ever been."

" _I'm_ your longest relationship," Regina reminded her primly and sat up from her spot to stare pointedly at the blonde. "And if we're going to talk about her then I need another drink."

"I thought you were never drinking again," the blonde teased.

"You've made a drinker out of me, dear." She moved to get up from the couch but Emma's gentle tugging had her stay. This was the closest they were going to get to a proper segue of last night.

"We'll have a repeat of last night when we go out tomorrow," she promised. "End Tallahassee with a bang."

"I'm going to die of alcohol poisoning," Regina said darkly staring off into the distance.

"You, Regina," Emma began with an accusatory finger, "don't like any of my exes."

"They're your exes for a reason, darling."

"I think you just want me all to yourself," Emma proclaimed proudly, if not leading her, just a little bit. She was aching to know what Regina meant last night, and if this was the only way to do it...She outstretched her arms against the back of the couch and tilted her chin up like she was some Greek goddess revealing herself on a velvet chaise, when really Emma hadn't changed out of the oversized flannel from the night before and was already stripped from the waist down.

Regina smirked. Hungover she may be, but she was always up for the challenge whenever Emma teased, and the younger woman should have taken that as a sign to back off. But Emma liked a challenge. Regina's teeth flashed wickedly into a grin, and she leaned over enough to make Emma curious, closing the distance between them as if Regina was about to whisper some lost secret. Or kiss her maybe? That was good too. The tendons in Emma's neck fought to keep her composure. "You've guessed my evil plan, Em- _ma_."

Her name was drawled out like the long moan from this morning, and Emma swallowed hard, her throat bobbing visibly. She nodded animatedly and kept her voice level. "You wanted to scare off all my dates and ensnare me in your clutches."

Regina chuckled, a dark, rich laughter that made the place between Emma's thighs tingle. She was leaning over the blonde now, one hand planted on either side of her waist and her knees straddling a leg. Try as she might, Emma could only lean so far back against the couch, or maybe she didn't want to. She liked Regina this close, and with them nearly nose to nose, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Did it work?" She whispered.

"Absolutely." Their lips brushed, by accident or on purpose, it was hard to tell, and any other time Emma would dive in head first and damn the consequences, but this was Regina, and the consequences weren't just waking up with regret. If there was a chance she could lose her, then Emma didn't want to take that risk. _She had to know._ "Do you remember last night?"

Regina suddenly reared back onto her knees and blanched. "What did I do?"

Emma's heart sank though her face didn't fall. "What was the last thing you remember?"

The brunette looked away in thought, her forehead scrunched up as she searched her memories. Meanwhile, Emma's internal monologue was remixing between _Please God have her remember_ to _Oh shit oh shit oh shit what if she does?_ because no matter what was going to come out Regina's mouth next, Emma wasn't prepared for the answer.

Then Regina's eyes widened, and Emma couldn't tell if that pink tinting her tanned cheeks was in embarrassment or just thinking too hard. "Did I tell room service to bring up dunch or linner?" She finally asked aghast.

The war in her brain muted, and though there was a clear winner, Emma still felt the loss. But she chuckled lightly, the sound not quite convincing even to her ears, then nodded. "Yeah, they were so confused and came up with two pizzas."

Regina groaned and fell back against the opposite end of the couch. "You fed me pizza?"

"You devoured it yourself."

The brunette groaned and covered her face with her hands. "I am never drinking again."

Emma's lips turned upwards into a smile, and even though she'd usually be teasing Regina about all this, she really couldn't help but be disappointed. What did she expect really? An outlandish confession and a wet, heated kiss? Kind of. Despite the answer, another battle commenced in her head whether she should bring it up herself. On one hand, Regina would be reminded what she said and they could have a total rom-com moment and then Emma could kiss her whenever she wanted, but on the other hand, Regina could have regretted it. Her words were spoken in a drunken haze after finding pictures of their life together—yeah, Emma was starting to feel a little bit like a creepy stalker—but what if they were just too little too late? A coulda, woulda, shoulda, that had the potential to be great if they could just get their timing right. Or if Emma simply hit the bullet and spoke up.

"Are you sure I'm the one who's ill?" Regina worried, pressing the back of her hand against Emma's forehead. "You grew quiet and your face did the thing where your forehead wrinkles and you tilt your head to the side."

"Yeah," she answered taking Regina's hand and holding it between her palms.

The brunette grinned and settled back on the couch. "Well, thank you for caring for me. You're my best friend, and I don't know what I would do without you."

"Yeah," Emma whispered again meeting Regina's grin with a sad smile of her own. "You're mine too."

* * *

Emma was in the shower later that evening, leaving Regina, already washed and strumming her guitar aimlessly to Eric Clapton as she sat on the muskoka chair on their balcony. The view really was beautiful. The skies weren't this blue back in Storybrooke. Or maybe she just didn't take the time to notice. It wasn't like cloud-watching would be scheduled in her agenda. The only sun they saw in Storybrooke was in the summer time, and that was only when the boats from the commercial fishing line didn't stir up a storm causing a permanent overcast. But this, she thought as the sun glowed orange against the skyline, this was gorgeous.

She strummed absent-mindedly, not realizing that Emma had exited the washroom until the blonde was beside her, hanging her damp towel on the railing. Her hair fell in wet ringlets over her right shoulder as she sauntered back inside in nothing but cut off shorts and a bra. Regina did her best not to stare, eyebrows furrowed intensely as her fingers strummed over the chords.

She felt like an idiot, gawking at her best friend, and quite honestly, it was nothing they hadn't already seen but somewhere along the line it became intimate. Emma questioning what she remembered of last night had her worried that maybe she had come on to the blonde, but she knew Emma better than that. She'd never take advantage of someone while under the influence. It was a trait she admired of her. But she had to wonder, with Emma staring a second too long at her now, that something must have happened for the blonde to look at her that way. It wasn't different, just more...intense. Like they shared something Regina couldn't remember what and Emma longed for her to remember. God, she hoped she hadn't flashed Emma her new piercing. She couldn't have. The blonde would have teased her relentlessly by now. Or blushed. Or maybe they would have woken up naked filled with regrets. Or maybe not.

Emma grinned, flashing her a wink before tugging a tank top over her head then promptly removing her bra from underneath. They certainly weren't going out now that Emma was getting comfortable.

She continued to play softly, humming the lyrics of the song to herself as Emma returned to the balcony and settled in the second muskoka chair, her art supplies in tow. Regina kept her under a curious eye as the blonde dug through her backpack and pulled out the sketchbooks she had gotten for her. The pensive look on her friend's face made Regina glance down to see it was the book she had tried to peer into only yesterday. Whatever was in that book was either a secret or Emma felt embarrassed by it, but until she was ready to share, Regina would refrain from bringing it up. Instead of opening it up to draw, the blonde hesitated then switched it out with another. The Saviour in her dark black and red body suit hid on the rooftops of a building as she watched fiercely over her city, and from the speech bubble there, Regina could see there was a cry for help. Emma switch to the next page and began drawing the panel lines.

Regina was surprised to see Malinda Morgan's alter-ego once more since Emma was pretty focused on _Rocky Road._ Not that they resembled the characters or anything, but she was pretty sure Ellie and Sonya were fighting a couple hangovers of their own right about now. Regina shook her head in amusement as Emma leaned back, her feet up on the banister and her thighs used as a makeshift table where she continued on with Malinda Morgan going through her identity crisis. The setting sun cast a glow just behind Emma, encasing her in a warm silhouette. If Regina had been the artist between the two of them, she would have drawn the scene right then and there. Instead, she riffed just slightly and changed tunes, a melodic mix of soft notes serenading the moment as she studied how Emma's light press against the pencil to paper contrasted the way she bit the inside of her cheek as she drew.

Twenty years later, and Emma still was determined as ever to become that famed cartoonist. When she was younger, all Regina's goals aligned with her mother's — get a degree, get a job, get married. Two out of three weren't so bad, but it hadn't exactly made her fulfilled. Even after her parents' deaths she hadn't shaken off her need to make them proud. Her degree became useless and her job was mundane. Thank God Emma had been around to keep her mind from spiralling. And here they were, after all these years, in a hotel in Tallahassee. Regina couldn't imagine doing this with anyone else.

She continued watching Emma draw, taking in the lead marks on her wrist and the side of her palm as her hand smudged the pencil. The blonde, unaware of prying eyes, used her leaded hand to brush back a bang that threatened to poke her eye but leaving a grey smear of pencil residue on her brow. Regina laughed out loud and shook her head, the sound catching Emma's attention, as the blonde looked up from her drawing and grinned.

"What?"

Regina shook her head as she silently continued playing. The blonde just smirked and continued to draw while Regina pretended not to notice whenever Emma glanced up to stare intently at her then promptly look down at her sketch book and began etching. Then Emma looked up and remained fixated before she tilted her head in thought.

"Where did you go that night?"

Regina chuckled to herself before deciding to put the blonde out of her misery. "A tattoo parlour."

Emma's eyes widened in intrigue. "Where's your tattoo?"

"What?"

"We went swimming in the ocean after you went gallivanting without me. I've seen all this." Emma motioned to her body. "What'd you get?"

"What makes you think it's a tattoo?"

Emma smirked and turned back to her drawing, and judging by the pleased gleam in her eye she must have been planning to sketch Sonya with a tattoo in the near future but now second-guessed that choice.

"I want to say lower back, which you could totally pull off, but I'm thinking something elegant." Emma reached over and brought up Regina's feet, making the brunette giggle in surprise as she inspected her ankles. "No rose or timeless quote."

Regina huffed and pulled her feet back on the ground. "I didn't get a tattoo."

Emma scrunched up her nose confused. "Then what— _where_ is it?"

Regina smirked as her friend inevitably came to a conclusion. She tapped her nose signalling she wouldn't tell, and Emma groaned and stomped a foot petulantly. "Come on! First I don't get to come with you to your first piercing that isn't your ears and now you won't tell me where it is? Let me see your tongue!"

"Maybe you'll find out where it is." Regina couldn't help her lips twitching in amusement and just a little bit of wonder when Emma's gaze dropped down to the correct location. The blonde gulped and suddenly shifted backwards. Regina could see the gears working in her head. She bit her lip, wondering if the tease had been a toe over the line, but Emma's gaze kept dropping down to her lap, and she couldn't help but appreciate it.

"Is that why you—?"

Regina squinted in confusion. Emma turned beet red and faced the horizon.

"That's some spontaneity," the blonde mumbled instead, running a hand through her hair. She chanced a glance at her once more.

Emboldened, Regina released her lip and quirked an eyebrow. "Do you need me to show and tell?"

Emma, usually the one to tease Regina relentlessly, was flustered to no end. Her cheeks brightened further, and whatever she wanted to retort died on her tongue in a mess of barely articulated words. Regina laughed and pressed a hand against her shoulder to calm her down. "I was joking."

Seemingly soothed, Emma chuckled. "Yeah, well I was about to say we could knock off the one night stand here and now if it is what I think it is."

Regina was left speechless, and she tried to decipher how much truth there was in Emma's words. They were just teasing, she convinced herself. They joked about that all the time. Emma took Regina's silence as her own victory and continued drawing. Regina, not threatening to push her luck, continued to strum her guitar, humming along with the tune as she stared outward toward the skyline.

"What's on your bucket list?" Regina asked quietly, eyes not straying from the silhouetted scenery against the setting sun.

"Hmm?" Emma looked up, eyes wide in clarification.

"What's your number one?"

"I don't need one," she answered easily with a wolfish grin. "I'm a wanderer."

Regina laughed and offered her guitar. "Would you like to play some Bon Jovi as you walk the lonely road with nothing more than your six-string on your back?"

The blonde glared and placed her art on the ground, taking the proffered guitar. "I can't play if my six-string is on my back, now can I?"

"You're honestly on this journey with me, and you haven't once thought about what you'd want to cross off your own bucket list?" Regina crossed her arms in playful accusation.

"Learning a new skill isn't a bad one," she conceded, strapping the guitar against her front and positioning her hands on the neck and body appropriately. "Still have your learning books?"

"Here." Regina pulled her chair closer, the wood dragging against the cement flooring as she settled beside Emma. Her left arm mirrored the blonde's while her right pressed hotly against Emma's right shoulder. She didn't know the proper way to teach another person without a guitar of her own, and this seemed to be the only viable solution. She took Emma's hand in her own and guided her fingers toward the first fret. "Put your index here, on the third string, and your middle finger here."

She led Emma's middle finger to the fourth string of the second fret, though the blonde's hand resisted. "Relax, it takes a little getting used to."

"Easy for you to say, Hendrix."

The brunette shook her head and placed Emma's ring finger on the fourth string of the second fret as well. "Now strum."

Getting her bearings, Emma strummed the strings, but a dull loud noise came out instead. Her pout threw the brunette into a small fit of giggles. "Make sure your palm doesn't touch any of the other strings. Just keep the three you have pressed down."

"I have tiny hands," she complained.

"And mine are smaller, but I can do it."

"Yeah but you have…" she waved her hand in the air flustered. "Magic fingers."

"I've been told." Regina retorted smartly as Emma whipped her head up at her comeback, but all the older woman did was blow a small kiss then repositioned Emma's hands. "It's awkward at first but if you hold it just right…"

Together they strummed the guitar, and a proper E chord sounded brilliantly from their balcony.

"Hey," the blonde grinned at the sound. "That wasn't so bad."

"Now learn the other notes, pull them together in a song, and make sure your fretting is perfect, and we can start that band."

"Without Lily," added Emma as she rubbed her nose with the palm of her hand, leaving more pencil smear across her face. Regina laughed instead of grumbling a response.

"You are such a mess." She leaned over wiped at Emma's nose, successfully spreading the markings to her cheek before she pulled her thumb back and licked her finger, returning with vigour.

"Gross!" Emma deflected her hand and rubbed at her own face. "You might as well lick me clean."

"Then you'll definitely find out where my piercing is if one thing leads to another," Regina quipped and successfully removed the mark. She left the one on Emma's brow. If the blonde wanted to look like a scrap piece of paper then so be it.

"All clean, _Mom_?"

Regina rolled her eyes and sat back, reclaiming her guitar in her lap. "You didn't answer my question."

Emma looked down at her lap before reaching for her old sketchbook and thumbed through it, the eclectic artwork coming to life for her. Wordlessly, the book was handed over and Regina quirked a brow at the newest Rocky Road panel that was two pages full of Polaroid-like pictures scattered on the page. She grinned at one of Sonya hovering over Lenny as her face looked green, and her stomach knotted when she spotted a picture of them holding the camera up above them sitting at the top of the Ferris wheel. Only the drawing had the two women staring at each other, lovingly if Regina did say so herself, and she couldn't help her throat from bobbing up and down as she gulped away how tongue-tied she felt. The characters were fictional and any resemblance to any real or fictional people, alive or dead, was merely a coincidence. It wasn't like this was how it happened anyway when they were enjoying the sunset view from the ride. No, they were having fun taking pictures and revelling in adopting kids. They hadn't looked at each other like that. Not then anyway.

Her mind immediately brought her back to the sushi restaurant when Regina realized they were far too close until it suddenly reeled to the night at the lake, hell, the last twenty years. She handed it back and smiled. "It's really good."

"I thought I'd be a famous cartoonist by now," Emma admitted, flipping through the pages. "Maybe not famous, but I didn't think I'd still be job hopping at thirty-five."

"It's not unusual nowadays for people to switch careers every so often," Regina offered.

"But I'm not in a career, am I?" Emma scoffed harshly to herself. "I was a temp picking up phones."

"Yes, but you could still be the next Alison Bechdel."

"Yeah, right," Emma muttered dejectedly before shrugging. "Did you see me ending up like this when we were sixteen?"

"When we were sixteen I could barely see the star of the track team passing Advanced Functions," Regina quipped.

Emma laughed, putting her books and toolbox down and tugging the guitar out of Regina's lap, settling it on the balcony before scooting over so her legs were draped over Regina's. She retaliated by winding her own legs just under Emma's thigh. "I thought for certain the pretty tutor wasn't going to remember me five years from then and I'd be some charity work on her college application."

"And then five years from then that pretty tutor, your words not mine, would be taking you out for your college graduation present to Dave and Buster's because, and I quote, 'It's like Chuck-E-Cheese for kids!'"

"It is!" They laughed heartily. Emma smiled with her eyes before tilting her head in thought. "For what it's worth, whether we get this bucket list done by this week, or in a month, or in a year, I'm glad you let me get the ball rolling."

"Did I have a choice?" Regina teased. When Emma looked away, Regina caught her hand and entwined their pinkies, their arms dangling above their respective chair rests. "Thank you."

"You've said that," Emma teased, but Regina just smiled, their eyes catching again in an unspoken staring contest daring the other to break first. It was Regina who turned away under the ruse of shifting her seat entirely so that they sat side by side until she rested her head against Emma's shoulders. She could feel the blonde smirk even though her gaze was toward the now set sun as the sky lit up with a pale grey blue before it descended into darkness. Without thought she found Emma's hand once more and linked their fingers, and within a breath, Emma's head was nestled against hers as the blonde sighed contently.

On a balcony in Tallahassee with her best friend, this was the life. If Regina had put a number one down on her list it very well could have been this.

* * *

Regina was starting to rethink this whole bucket list thing as she stared at herself in the washroom mirror the following night. Her hair was curled at the tips, and her make-up was even darker than it had been last weekend when she tried to go clubbing on her own. The tight black leather dress she had purchased on their shopping endeavour at the beginning of the week hugged her body splendidly, but knowing what the night was going to entail made her stomach churn. Going out with the intention of having sex? What was she, some twenty-year old sorority sister? Emma had reassured her that she had already picked out the club she wanted to hit: Vanity. A place located just a ten minute drive away, it was probably the only gay club in all of Florida, at least in Tallahassee if her google search was right. They'd be comfortable, Emma promised, .and there wouldn't be the constant fear of unwanted attention. No, the problem was that she'd actually have to go through with it. Forget her piercing, this was the most ridiculous, irresponsible thing she could have done.

"Woah, hey sexy lady," Emma jeered coming into the washroom, fixing a hoop earring through her ear.

Regina turned and took Emma in. Deep red leather jeans, heeled boots, and low v-cut sleeveless shirt. Her hair was curled even more so, dark waves falling over the left side of her shoulder as four thin braids kept the right side of her hair out of her face and pinned away. As enticing as she looked, she appeared comfortable. She would fit in splendidly at a club, rubbing elbows and grinding hips with the newly graduated and those celebrating their dirty thirties. Regina, however, felt like a suburban soccer mom who pawned her kids off to grandma for the weekend.

"You look hot," Emma continued, swatting her backside for emphasis. "The ladies won't be able to keep their hands off you. And the men too."

"I'd rather you draw me naked," she blanched.

"That can also be arranged."

Regina huffed at herself in the mirror before turning briskly back to Emma. "I don't want to go."

Emma's teasing grin faltered to a frown before her eyebrows burrowed in question. Then she shrugged removing the hoop she had just finished putting on. "Okay."

Regina stepped back flabbergasted. "Okay?"

"I don't want you to be uncomfortable," she reasoned easily.

"That's it?" Regina asked disbelieving. "I say no and suddenly this is the one thing you listen to?"

"If you're uncomfortable, you'll drink, and if you drink too much, someone will take advantage of you," Emma explained. "You don't necessarily need a dick to be an asshole. It's one thing to skinny dip or go get a piercing, but it's another thing of going out with the intention of going home with someone."

"Then why have you been pushing me to go?"

"I've been pushing you for this road trip," the blonde clarified. "And to be honest, you look a little tense, less so than usual, but still tense. We could have easily hit up a sex toy shop if you just need to rub one out. I think I saw one on the boulevard."

Regina gasped and pressed a hand to her chest, her cheeks flushed embarrassed. "Emma!"

"What?" She asked genuinely surprised. "I know you use that Lelo I got you for your birthday, so don't even."

"I threw it out," Regina said indignantly.

Emma laughed out loud and smirked knowingly, her eyes twinkling with mirth and her tongue ready to spit out evidence. Regina blushed harder. "Sure, pumpkin. Did you want to hit up a toy shop instead?"

Regina turned away, not willing to let Emma see her contemplation because she and that Lelo were on very good terms.

"I'll say that's a maybe," she grinned.

Despite her crossed arms and pointed glare, it flattered Regina that Emma was so cautious about tonight yet still so supportive. They'd stay in at a moment's notice, but if Regina simply wanted to dance and drink overpriced alcohol then they'd do that too. Or if they wanted to find a sex toy shop in the morning, that was up for debate as well. It was all up to Regina, and she had no idea what she wanted to do. Never was she so indecisive before, but the entirety of this trip was more about her and Emma. It wasn't like they'd have the whole club to themselves and she was meant to... _interact_ with people. For once, it was her own voice in her head reminding her to step out of her comfort zone. Sometimes she hated her rational side. As if she lost some internal battle, she suppressed a groan and turned back to Emma who was about to remove her other earring. "Maybe we can just see where the night takes us?"

Emma nodded with a smile. "Say the word and I'll take you home."

* * *

With every hollow step on the concrete sidewalk, Regina's nerves grew more and more. She made a quick stop at a 24-hour convenience store where they parked their car in a plaza close to the club because in the event she was going to go all the way, then she'd be safe. Their tiny, poorly stocked pharmaceutical section surprisingly had what she needed, and swiftly making her purchase, avoiding eye contact with the cashier and blushing behind her hair, she immediately opened the package and hid a few dams in her clutch. She exited, nodding to Emma that she was ready, and as if sensing her trepidation, Emma wrapped an arm around her waist and tugged her in close, whispering in her ear. "Relax. We're just here to have some much needed fun."

"What have we been doing for the past week?"

"Finding out we're probably never coming back to Tallahassee again and making the hotel staff think we're some middle-aged lesbian couple on their second honeymoon."

"If you take me here for a honeymoon, I want a divorce."

"Hawaii, then?" Regina smirked but remained quiet. "Oh no, the Caymans. It's beautiful and we have history there."

"Why do I feel like if it were left up to you, we'd have a destination wedding on the beach?"

Emma's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Well look who's been thinking about our wedding."

The brunette winked cheekily before her lips pursed into a frown. The sound of deep heavy bass music was starting to filter through the night air, and as they approached, she grew more and more anxious.

"I can't remember the last time I went to a club," Regina muttered, inadvertently pulling into Emma like it was winter and she was her only source of warmth.

"Well you went by yourself in South Carolina."

"A real club."

"Cayman."

"Those weren't clubs," she bristled, getting more and more agitated as the deep bass thumping through the streets grew louder and louder like the beating drums of a war song. She drew in a shaky breath.

"They were nightly parties under a monitored beach cabana," Emma clarified. "And if I recall correctly there was a very pretty redhead lady hailing all the way Scotland who you couldn't keep your hands off one night."

Regina blushed, cheeks redder than the makeup she'd originally applied. Though not a heavy drinker (and this trip was definitely pushing her boundaries), Regina had taken one too many tequila shots that night and ended up in the arms of that redhead whose name she never caught. They didn't get past heavy necking under the cabana tent, but come morning when she found Emma on their balcony, her sketchbook out and a knowing grin on her face, she vowed never to drink so much again. Apparently until a couple nights ago, but who was keeping track? If her whole life had been like that night under the cabana tent, then they wouldn't have been on this road trip, Regina mused. But she had to admit, all things considering she was having fun again.

"Yes, well," Regina moved past her flushed state by pulling away from the blonde's grip, but that was the sum of her argument.

"So a redhead tonight, or a Mila Kunis look-alike?"

Her words were failing her for as soon as they turned a corner, the club had appeared in their view, the sight alone stealing her tongue her and her breath. Was it too late to back out? The nerves in Regina's body eased away letting her breathe just a little bit. Her heart was still beating as loud as the music coming from the neon coloured club, but at least she felt more relaxed.

A group of women, two heavyset butch ladies with crew cuts and a tall woman with bright red heels to match her blood red hair and dress, nodded their way as they smoked at the end of the street. Emma smiled and waved. Regina's pulse kicked, invigorated.

"So far so good?" Emma checked in, whispering into Regina's hair. The brunette nodded and lifted her chin, striding forward with a newfound confidence. She could do this.

She was never much the party girl despite running with the more popular crowds both in high school and university, but the atmosphere in the air rippled over her skin like a second coat. Her heart may be racing and her pulse jumping, but at least she was pleasantly anxious to be there. They joined the ever growing line of club goers outside the main entrance, and she was surprised how busy it was so early on in the evening. The one gay-friendly club only opened once a week, and it seemed people needed their fill. She didn't need the long line of women to know what they were hoping to get this evening. No, more than a handful of eyes had followed them on their way to the end of the line, and Regina followed their gaze to Emma, the blonde oblivious or ignoring the blatant looks of lust she was receiving. Emma was attractive. More than attractive. Regina would have to be blind not to notice that. So she sidled up closer to her, curling their fingers around one another and gently tugging her closer where they immediately got lost in the crowd waiting for entrance. As soon as she did that, most of the wandering eyes redirected forward, but the few brave souls glanced her way curiously. Regina glared and they finally turned, save for one woman with a red checkered scarf who continue to leer, though her gaze was firmly set on Regina herself. Emma, whether she knew what was happening or simply moved naturally, brought the brunette in close, and the scarfed woman turned back into line. Good. This night may be for her enjoyment, but neither Emma nor she needed unwanted attention either. She paled. Unless Emma was hoping to get something out of tonight as well?

"You okay?" The blonde checked in with her lips pressed near Regina's ear. The brunette nodded and simply looped her arm through Emma's. It was chilly. In Florida. In the beginning of August.

As the line slowly inched forward, Regina couldn't help the smile that fell from her blood red lips. This wasn't her scene, and she generally didn't like Top 40 music. She hadn't had a lick of alcohol yet, and her dress was shorter than normal, but dear God was she was excited. Whether it was this road trip, or being out with Emma, or just some repressed part of her screaming to be let loose, her filters were down and her curiosity piqued. There were no leering men looking to get into her pants for the night, and she was pretty sure the one man who did narrow his eyes at her was staring intently at her dress wondering what the material was. This night would be a game-changer. She could feel it.

* * *

Heavy bass beats vibrated against the dance floor when they finally entered. Not particularly huge, the club's prime feature involved having mirrors everywhere. Vanity at its finest. Glass mirrors acted as walls, the ceiling, and in patterned design on the dance floor. Regina was momentarily disoriented as it appeared to be a severe overcrowding with the reflections everywhere, but with Emma's steady hand on her back guiding her forward, she turned away from the illusion and caught Emma looking straight ahead to the bar, determined jaw and completely in her element.

"Let's grab a drink." Emma had to yell in her ear over the music before Regina nodded and let Emma pull her along.

Two tequila shots and two amaretto sours later, they were on the dance floor, Emma expertly gyrating her hips to the remixed music while Regina struggled to keep in time with her. Her movements were stiff, and despite the Latin blood running through her, the only rhythm she seemed to have was in her fingers.

"Come on, love, where did those dance lessons go?" Emma asked, guiding Regina's hips with her hands.

Regina wasn't sure which she was more taken aback with: Emma's hands on her hips pressing her close, or the pet name. She'd been on the receiving end of horrendous endearments the blonde would say to rile her up. Cupcake, buttercup, Reginald, even, but names that lovers would drop so easily from their lips never passed Emma's. It was coined lovers for a reason, and for Emma to use _that one_ out of her whole Rolodex of nicknames made Regina's breath hitched just a little.

Despite the heat rising through her body, from the overcrowded club of course, Regina stepped into the blonde, draping her arms lazily around Emma's neck and let herself be guided to the music. "I took lessons for a year before I quit."

Regina shivered when Emma ducked her head to whisper in her ear. "I can teach you."

It was just the atmosphere of the club. Hot bodies, close grinding, alcohol and sweat. It couldn't possibly be any more than that as the adrenaline rushed through Regina's body, and she was pulled flush against Emma's that there was no denying the blonde could feel the pounding of her heartbeat.

"Teach me."

Emma simply grinned, clutching possessively at her waist, and all Regina could do was wrap her arms around her neck tighter. The blonde had maneuvered a leg between her own, connecting them even further as they danced to the music, but all that pressure did was intensify the already simmering yearning between her thighs. _Oh, Genie was right about that piercing._ In any other instance, Regina would have felt extremely uncomfortable, all too aware of every move she made and whether she had any rhythm, but as Emma held her close, moving their bodies together as one, she didn't give a damn what she looked like.

A song came on that she wasn't familiar with, but nearly everyone in the club jumped up and down wildly, hooting and cheering excitedly. The atmosphere must have gotten to her since before she knew it, she was belting out what she assumed the lyrics were and singing dramatically to Emma. Somehow Regina had gotten lost in a sea of men and women in various degrees of tight undress, but she danced, pressing up against strangers and returning their salacious winks. It wasn't until she felt a hand on her wrist did she see the woman, red checkered scarf and predatory glean in her eye, try to tug her closer.

She caught Emma's attention, a few people away and firmly in the middle of a blonde bombshell sandwich. Emma paused and beckoned her over with a tilt of her head, and as soon as Regina danced her way over, Emma wrapped her arms around Regina's waist and led her through the beat expertly and away from the scarfed woman. She couldn't stop the pleasant heat from filling her as Emma pressed hotly against her back. The leather of Emma's pants clung to the back of Regina's thighs, and she swore she could feel Emma's heart beat over the bass of the music. She weaved a hand behind her, finding soft golden locks draping over both their shoulders and pressed Emma even closer, a content grin on her face.

"Having fun?" Emma asked hotly into her ear, their bodies pressing into one.

"I am now."

* * *

Regina's feet were killing her. Sitting in a booth helped only marginally so since she was more than aware that the seat beneath her was sticky with some sort of cocktail or beer. Whatever the case, it allowed her a moment to rest and massaged her aching feet. Slipping her feet back into her heels, she glanced around the still lively club, immediately spotting Emma dancing alongside a petite brunette. More than once was she reminded that this was Emma's world. There was a niggling feeling in the back of her mind that made her want to yank her friend off the dance floor, but she had no claim to her like that. Emma was free to dance with whomever she liked, even if it was provocative. Though Regina didn't have a problem with the way she danced with her earlier. She revelled in their languidly moving bodies and Emma's breath on her neck. Her pulse jumped and she shook her head. It must have been the alcohol and the atmosphere suggesting these thoughts because Emma was her best friend. They'd known each other for so long, of course there was going to be love there.

"Hello there." A low timbre voice pulled her away from her musings, and she glanced up to see the woman she had bumped into earlier. A black and red checked scarf decorated her neck to match the fitted red dress shirt and black slacks she wore. If the lady was going for dark and mysterious, she needed to look a lot less like Christmas and more like Jessica Rabbit. She knew the woman had been scouting her all night waiting for a moment alone, and Regina cursed herself for insisting Emma stay on the dance floor. The woman, though quite attractive, just was not her type. Her type was...

"Can I buy you a drink?" Regina ducked her head and tried to scoot out of the booth when the woman leaned in close to ask her question, blocking her exit.

"No, thank you," she said firmly and stood up at the end of the seat and forcing her to take a step back.

"I saw you earlier," she mentioned over the speakers. "You're very beautiful."

"Thank you," Regina nodded tightly, hoping to bypass her in the process but wincing at the pain in her heels.

"Let's dance." She urged, tugging Regina's wrists towards the dance floor.

She caught Emma's eye over her shoulder, and the blonde stopped dancing right in the middle of the floor and mouthed, asking if she was okay. She gave a minute shake of her head, and Emma was fighting her way through the crowd.

Perhaps in a different setting Regina might have given this woman a second glance, but her sense of entitlement was off-putting and unwelcomed. Halfway through the night she mentally decided she would not be hooking up with anyone, bucket list be damned, and she had no idea what vibe this woman was getting out of her. She opened her mouth to dismiss her once more when an arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"Are you bothering my girlfriend?" Regina instinctively leaned into the touch, silently thanking Emma for pulling her out of that one when she turned her head to find it was not Emma.

A woman, taller than Emma, but hair just as bright yellow looked down at the scarf-wearing female expectantly. Regina was flabbergasted. On one hand, she was apparently being saved from little Miss Entitlement, yet on the other, this new Blondie was getting more familiar than she should have. The scarfed-woman backed up, hands up in quiet resignation before she disappeared back onto the dance floor. It was then she caught Emma's eye, still stuck behind a grinding couple but just as confused as Regina felt.

"I'm sorry," Blondie said removing her arm and leaning in close, her hand out for a greeting. Regina took it, and the new stranger leaned in to speak into her ear. "Mallory, but you can call me Mal. You looked like you could use some help just then, and I didn't see your girlfriend around."

"My girlfriend?"

"Blonde girl. Red leather."

"Oh." Regina looked past Mal to shrug and shake her head at Emma, indicating she was all right. "Yes, she's just over there."

Mal visibly deflated as if the last of her hope gone, but her smile remained on her face. That couldn't be said for Regina. Insinuating Emma was her girlfriend twice on this road trip was one thing, but she all but claimed her blonde friend who was still making her way through the crowd. It was for safety reasons, Regina argued. There was an unspoken pact that they'd be each other's lesbian lover in the event the other was hit on. Lord knew that Regina could have used it that night in South Carolina. But this new blonde woman seemed friendly enough to take no for an answer, so she had no reason to make such a statement.

"Do you think she'd mind if—"

"Would I mind what?" Emma, huffing and sweat slicked from the dance and her battle through the crowd, popped her head in between both women with a accusatory glare at the tall blonde.

"If I danced with..."

It was a simple yes or no question. Technically the tall blonde was asking for her name to ask the simple yes or no question. She didn't have to further complicate things by grabbing Emma's hand, their fingers linking easily, and stepping closer to her friend's space. She most certainly didn't have to say " _No, we're having a date night_ ," but she did, and both blondes were left flabbergasted, one enviously understanding while the other trailing behind her as Regina tugged them back to the dance floor, pressing her forehead against Emma's.

It was a second too long where Emma simply stood there, every dance move in her arsenal thrown out the window as Regina pressed their chests together, but the blonde faltered still and kept her hands hanging limply by her side. Out of the corner of her eye, Regina could see the curly-haired blonde scrutinize their every move, and for once in their life, they must have looked uncomfortable and awkward around one another.

"Em," Regina urged, brushing her lips against the blonde's ear. " _Touch me._ "

With precise movements, she guided Emma's hands from her side to her waist, turning swiftly in her grasp until her back was pressed against the blonde's front. Emma's hand was stiff under her own as she held it close against her swaying hips and when she trailed their other conjoined palms up and rested it on the back of Emma's neck, pulling them even closer, the hitch in the younger woman's breath made her wonder if she had pushed too far. Emma's nose was all but buried in Regina's neck, and she could feel the perspiration gathering there from the heat of the club. The body behind her felt unwilling, refusing to give even just an inch, and when Regina noticed that Mallory had moved away, she was a second away from pulling back and apologizing for her hasty behaviour.

But Emma's palm at her waist dug into her skin, keeping her there.

She was moving now, freely, sensually against Regina's body, and her face buried in her neck seemed to burrow there like she was cuddling her favourite pillow. The brunette nearly snorted that _she_ , in fact, was Emma's favourite pillow, but the laughter died on her lips when Emma's hand, tangled with Regina's behind her neck, left her there hold her hips close, so close by the top of her thighs.

That brief moment where for once in their life they looked like they weren't together was quickly overshadowed by the fact that there was no doubting who they'd be dancing with all night.

* * *

"So date night, huh?" Regina froze at the question for only a moment before she handed Emma a glass of wine and leaned back in the muskoka chair. She was out of her dress and Emma had donned a giant flannel top with bare legs, and the low hum of the night settled around them.

It was late. It was so late it might as well have been early. After sating their hunger at a 24-hour eatery, the couple had sobered up enough to drive the short distance back to their hotel. Regina's heels were already in her hand as they rode the elevator, and the air between them electrified as they heard the morning clamberings of their hotel neighbours waking up for the morning. The night wasn't done for them yet. Emma had easily stripped out of her leather pants and blouse, shrugging her flannel top over her body, and letting the soft air filter through the room when she opened the glass door of the balcony. Regina followed her lead, though she took the time to wash her face and brush her teeth, her silk nighty draping around her skin like a cool bath.

She settled into the chair, not ignoring Emma's question, but letting the events of the night unfold before her. It certainly felt like a date night. There wasn't dinner and movie, and there definitely wasn't a kiss at the end of the date—not that it was even the end, or that it was a date for that matter—but they had spent the time together. They didn't need to kiss to pretend to be girlfriends; the surrounding crowd seemed to know which couples were off limits, and with Regina's back moving sensually against Emma's front to the beat of the music, there was no denying they had every intention of leaving together. They didn't need to know they were simply best friends. Yes. Best friends. Though she couldn't remember any past friends who made her insides tingle and whose lips captivated her as much as Emma's. She supposed that's why there was a 'best' before the friend part. For a long second Regina was legitimately worried that she may have crossed a line. After that tiny incident with Mallory, she thought perhaps Emma had caught the eye of someone else and didn't want nor need Regina groping all over her.

But once Emma reciprocated boy did she do good.

"Yes," Regina replied tightly, acutely aware that Emma was looking at her like she held the answer to all of life's problems. "It had date-like qualities."

The blonde grinned and kicked her feet up onto the railing, her flannel bunching up to reveal a smooth thigh and the beginning of army camouflage panties. "Like?"

"You want me to list what made it feel like a date?" She asked incredulously.

" _Yup_." The word snapped shut with a pop of pale lips.

Regina opened her mouth, prepared to take Emma up on the challenge, but remembering the other woman's lips just nearly trailing down the side of her neck, to reinforce the ruse of course, made her blush as red as the rising sky. "No."

"Because I thought I saw a couple who couldn't keep their hands off each other," the blonde teased. "That Amazon lady with the small blonde girlfriend. They were cute."

The brunette snorted. "And I'm the Amazon lady."

"Hell, no. You're the tiny one." Emma moved in closer, leaning her head beside Regina's as they stared outward, re-imagining the scene before them. "She had a vice-like grip on that lady's neck whenever they made out on the dance floor."

"Well," Regina flushed red and tried to emphasize the haughtiness in her voice, "we certainly didn't do that."

"Is that disappointment?" Emma boldly teased, but if Regina squinted, was that...hope?

Arching her brow, however, Regina rose up to the challenge and turned her head so swiftly Emma barely had any time to move back. Their faces were mere inches apart, and though the blonde had had the upper hand, seeing green eyes widen and fight to keep their composure sent a wave of victory over Regina's body.

"Would you like to rectify that?" She challenged.

It'd be simple. Emma could just push forward a tiny bit and Regina would stop wondering what her lips would feel like and actually know. Not that Regina's thought about it a lot. But tonight, she can't get it out of her head. Not when Emma all but buried her face in Regina's neck and her hand held her close at her lower belly so close to—

Then Emma pulled back with a soft smile. "You're still drunk."

"Am not," she fought petulantly.

The younger woman simply laughed. "Next you'll be daring me to draw you naked, or I don't know—envisioning our future kids and blaming me because they like Kiss."

"Why would they like Kiss?" Regina wrinkled her nose.

"See?" She patted Regina's leg reassuringly, but the brunette unable to help but feeling like she was missing something there.

Instead of pushing further, Regina sighed and pressed her feet against the glass balcony railing, letting the warm pink and orange glow of the rising sun brighten up the sky. She was mesmerized. The last time she had watch a sunrise was only because she had finals and an 8am exam. She hadn't even appreciated the rising sun as she marched to school with her nose buried in notes and a coffee in her hand. But this was just so serene. She never considered herself very religious, but watching the light touch upon the still night sky made her feel like there had to be some higher power at play here. It was long minutes of reverent adoration before her body caught up with her mind as she breathed out a breathy, " _wow_."

"Hmm?"

"This should have been my number one," Regina explained, still lost in the sun's rising rays.

Emma tilted her head thoughtfully and nodded her understanding. "Something like watching the sun rise in five different cities."

"That's even better," Regina conceded, drinking her wine.

"You got one out of five out of the way. When we get back to Storybrooke, we can sit out on my fire escape and make that number two."

She nodded and waited a moment before finally deciding to press the subject. "Were you okay tonight?"

"What do you mean?"

"At the club," she explained.

"What, were my dance moves too all over the place for you?" The blonde quipped with a teasing smile.

Regina shook her head softly, trying to find the right words. "I mean, you felt—hesitant. It seemed like you didn't want to touch me after that woman asked me to dance."

"Oh." Understanding clouded Emma's features, and if Regina looked closely enough, she could detect fear. She and Emma were close; there was no doubt about that. But maybe she had pushed their boundaries by taking Emma's hand and guiding it over her body.

"Did I…" she began cautiously, "upset you?"

"God, no."

"What is it?"

"It's—" She stared out into the horizon as if she could distract Regina long enough to make her forget but they both knew they'd be able to extract information from the other if need be. "Tonight, I kind of realized what my number one would be if I had a bucket list."

"And?"

It took Emma longer to answer, mulling over her words carefully. For a second Regina thought she was lost in the beauty of the sunrise, the light highlighting her yellow locks. For a second Regina didn't care because Emma was so beautiful, inside and out, and she would hurt if Emma was hurting too.

"It's dumb," Emma finally voiced with an eye roll to herself.

"We travelled across the country for my bucket list." She squeezed their hands once more. "What's yours?"

"Do you remember when you found all those stupid rom-coms in my room when we were studying for our exams?" Regina suppressed a chuckle, remembering when she had accidentally toppled over a small pile of VHS's including the likes of Say Anything, Sleepless in Seattle, and Never Been Kissed. Emma had a romantic side that was hidden by the fact that she jumped into relationships too suddenly based on superficial premises. Her relationship with Lily was simply because they tag-teamed in conning a man out of his money at pool. She was a dreamer, just like her mother, though reality was always there to take her down a notch. "I always wanted to be kissed like in the movies, you know? Fireworks. Explosions. Hearts beating rapidly. Palms sweating. The whole nine yards. I always figured if someone ever kissed me like that then they'd be it. Kissing someone you love is a million times different from every other person, because really all kisses come with are slobber and feeling like you're choking on someone's tongue.

"But even when I write, with Malinda and Anastasia, and obviously Ellie and Sonya are getting together at the end of the series, they just love each other, you know? You can write this grand love scheme and draw the perfect setting for it, but how do you know what it's really like until you feel it?"

It was all said in one breath, but Regina couldn't hold in the gasp that came out like a whirlwind because there Emma was, the side of her only Regina knew she had vulnerable to her once more, and after this night, after this whole trip, after the past twenty years, maybe, just maybe this was it. Whether this was spontaneity or piss-poor decision making, Regina leaned forward, and this time she made sure Emma wasn't unclear of her intentions.

"You love me right?" Regina whispered, her breath hitting Emma's cheek.

"You know I do."

Her fingers trailed up behind Emma's neck. The blonde didn't resist, in fact she pulled in closer, but Regina remained warring with herself. This was it, there was no going back. They'd finally indulge just this one time.

" _Then kiss me._ "


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer in Chapter One.
> 
> NSFW.

" _Then kiss me._ "

Every rational neuron in Emma's brain must have shut down as the words were whispered so gently into her mouth it was like Regina had become her only source of oxygen. The fight she had put herself through for the past week and a half was blissfully silenced as she leaned forward and closed the gap between them.

Whatever fantasy she ever imagined of what Regina's lips would taste like dulled in comparison as soft plump lips tasting strongly of the wine and the alcohol they had consumed earlier moved tantalizingly against her own. Kissing had been Emma's forte. She'd even go to say she was an expert in the fact. But kissing Regina—Emma didn't know when to breathe or press forward until Regina's breathy sigh puffed against her lips and she just _moved_. Her fingertips played at the silk nighty bunched at Regina's waist until they moved more surely, grasping onto hips and tugging the brunette down entirely so she sat across her lap.

Regina gasped. Emma's breath hitched. And then lips so softly exploring one another moved languidly in a familiar dance that was even closer than their moves at the club, it made Emma's throat close in overwhelming need. She whimpered, pulling back just enough so that their lips brushed, and the blonde had to take a moment to get her bearings. It seemed the only way she could do that was by pressing her fingers more firmly around Regina's waist so that the side of her thigh was pressed securely against her stomach.

The air between them was heavy, and both were panting heavily in harmony. They may have been on this trip to knock off Regina's bucket list, but this was definitely Emma's number one crossed off the list. _Kissing Regina_ , what else could be better? A mixture of excitement and fear coursed through her, the former making her blood boil but the latter pleading to the logical side of her brain that kissing her best friend might not have been the smartest move, but that side of her brain was quickly stamped down by the sheer knowledge that _of course_ this kiss was phenomenal.

"Were there fireworks for you?" Regina broke the silence with her husky voice, her fingers absentmindedly playing with the hairs at the nape of Emma's neck so gently she was sure Regina could feel the goosebumps prickling at their touching thighs.

Emma barely had time to chuckle before she was tugging Regina closer and whispering, " _I knew it._ "

And they were kissing again, more determined this time now that they sampled the other's taste. Regina was all but hovering over Emma in the muskoka chair, the low and awkward angle making her back hurt, but then Emma stood up suddenly, shifting Regina into her arms so their fronts pressed closely against each other and Regina's legs wrapped around Emma's waist.

"Don't you dare drop me," Regina warned when she took a moment to glance over the balcony railing.

"Never." Emma captured her lips once more and stepped toward the glass door, making her way inside.

With every step, their lips continued to touch, finding each other in this overdue act. It was familiar but not. They had done this dance a million times. No, not the kissing, but they had hugged, they had held, they had touched. And _oh god_ , were they touching. Emma almost thought that if this were ever going to happen between them there'd be absolute caution and hesitation. There wasn't. Only certainty and grip, and boy was it ever happening between them.

She felt Regina shudder when Emma released her lips and trailed kisses down her jaw line, the brunette giggling further and trying to pull away when Emma's breath tickled her ear. How many times had Emma snuck up behind her to blow in her ear just to see her squirm? They knew each other's weak spots, and having free reign over their bodies like this—Regina squirmed. The blonde held her close and laughed, the deep chuckle sending more shivers down her spine. When Emma moved to recapture Regina's lips, the brunette pulled back, surprising the blonde and making her falter.

"I—" Emma was already on the verge of apology, eyes wide and stuttering, but Regina just shook her head, easing her way out of Emma's grasp until they both stood. Her heart was racing so rapidly she was pretty sure this was what a heart attack felt like, but when Regina placed a soft kiss at her wrist and led them inside the bedroom alcove, Emma figured if she was going to die, then what a way to go.

The air was thick with tension, and Emma felt like she might be choking on it. But she followed Regina blindly, taking steps with her as the sun filtered in through their parted window curtain and cast their bed in a warm orange glow. Then suddenly Regina was pulling her nighty over her head like she was about to wade through a lake completely nude, and though they had been here before, they weren't actually _here_ before and it made Emma's pulse jump.

"Regina?"

The brunette turned, her underwear falling around her ankles in a pool beside her night gown, and without more preamble than dropping onto the bed and scooting right into the middle of it, Regina lay on her back languidly and flashed Emma a knowing grin. "Draw me."

"What?" She strained to push words out of her constricting throat.

"I want you to draw me."

"Regina—"

The brunette turned onto her stomach then reared up on all fours like a cat. It was more of a predatory stance if Emma thought about it, and she was more than ready to play the prey and be devoured. "I am naked on the bed."

"Yes you are," the blonde whispered, not blind to the fact that the sun shined on Regina like she was the Holy Grail and Emma was a lowly raider.

"And this can go one of two ways, but I think we know we can end it in both ways," Regina drawled, leaning down on her forearms once more then rolling up on her side. The view of her at the lake may have been Regina's toned body, slick with water and pebbling under the cool night air, but seeing her now, completely vulnerable and exposed for Emma's eyes only, well the blonde wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Regina spoke once more and Emma knew she was done for. "If we're lucky."

Emma kept nodding her head, holding Regina's gaze as she found her backpack and only looked away to pull a leatherbound sketchbook away from her sack and a spare pencil. Then she sat. Her bottom firmly placed on the desk chair a foot away from the bed, Emma sat with her leg crossed like a table as she rested her book on top of her lap and flipped to a new page. They had joked about this all the time, Emma drawing Regina like "one of her French girls," but as Emma tried to control her breathing when she looked up at Regina once more, this was not some playful teasing.

The sun hit Regina like the curtains were parting just for her, and usually olive skin that had tanned to a toasted brown over the week looked golden in the light. Emma had no idea what this was or where this was going, but Regina told her to draw her, and Emma hadn't denied her yet. So she sketched, a faint outline of her body pressed against the plush cotton of the blanket, defining curves at the brunette's hips and waist, the hanging slope of her breast. Emma knew for sure that there was no draft in the room to make that nipple pert but there that was. Regina's face came next: carefully crafted chocolate eyes that twinkled in the light so brightly they almost looked like honey, the slight vein in her forehead whenever she concentrated too hard that was now at ease with relaxation and contentment. Emma desperately wanted to know what was running through Regina's thoughts as she lay exposed. She felt like snapping a picture and commuting this moment to memory, but Emma knew she didn't need a photograph to remember this. No, whatever was happening right now would stay in her mind forever.

"Let me know if you get tired," Emma broke the silence with a whisper. One minute they were kissing and the next, Emma had an abstract sketch of Regina naked on the bed. It was only through the hotel's clock did she realize not a word had been said in over an hour.

"I could do this all day." The blonde smirked and looked up to see Regina grin languidly and stretch out her legs in cat-like satisfaction.

"What is this?" Emma asked, still sketching the way Regina's legs crossed demurely at the ankles. "Your number one is to be naked and vulnerable?"

Regina shrugged. "I'm not vulnerable."

Emma cocked an eyebrow at that.

"I trust you."

"You kissed me," the blonde found herself saying before she gave it much thought, but she stared intently at Regina waiting for an explanation.

"I liked it," was all that she provided

Before Emma could ask the reason behind the kiss, her eyes drifted down to the thin strip of hair between Regina's thighs. It wasn't the fact that usually coarse hairs were glistening in the sun, though Emma clenched her legs and inhaled a shaky breath at that. It was the jeweled metal hidden just beneath it catching the light and Emma's eye that made her breath stutter once more. How on earth did she miss that? The obvious answer was that Regina had kissed her senseless and was now naked before her, but still.

She was up before she could stop herself, dropping her book and pencil on the vacant chair behind her to inspect her discovery like she was a treasure hunter. Well there definitely was a priceless jewel in front of her.

"You actually pierced your—" She squeaked and motioned to her own crotch.

"I thought you figured it out already." Regina uncrossed her legs, bending one on the bed for Emma to get a better look, and the blonde nearly passed out at the sight. The exposure tickled Regina's groin and the jewelry there making her sigh out in pleasure, the sound strongly resembling the one she heard only a two mornings ago. _Holy Jesus fuck._ Emma had always been curious about VCH piercings, but she never thought Regina would beat her to the punch. The idea that _both_ of them could eventually have one, and what they could do with that if this day went well made Emma's mind spin in a spiral.

"I didn't really believe it," the blonde croaked, bringing up a hand to hover over Regina's upper thigh. She paused, catching brown eyes for confirmation, and when Regina shifted closer to Emma, so close she could smell her scent, the artist had a sudden need to grasp on to her muse.

So she touched.

Not a hand on her lower back or wrapping her arms around her in a bear hug or even touching her most intimate spot, but Emma was hoping they would get there soon. Her palm, hot against Regina's upper thigh, was a heavy but familiar weight. It seemed both women were entranced by the situation as their eyes locked, and the air around them grew heavier. It was no Florida heatwave coursing through their hotel room as the sun proved to be their only spotlight, but it sure as hell felt like all the oxygen in the room had been sucked out.

"Do you want to see it?" Regina asked, her voice low and husky as her hand already descended southward down the smooth plane of her stomach where her fingertips touched the top of her curls.

Though Emma should have been nervous, she was more curious than anything. And very, very turned on. "Can I?"

Slowly Regina's fingers descended further until she pulled back her nether lips with a hiss as her body inadvertently clenched under Emma's intense gaze. "I've gotten more sensitive down there."

" _More?_ " The blonde repeated squeakily moving her hand up higher on Regina's thigh that she could feel the heat emanating from there.

Regina chuckled throatily, using her free hand to prop up her head as she stared at Emma transfixed on her piercing. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Steely green eyes locked with Regina's once more as Emma answered, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Dying for it, actually."

Regina bit her lip, and in a move that left no pretense to what was coming next, Regina tugged Emma up by fistful of hair and brought her nose to nose, lips not quite touching, but one tilt of the head forward, and they'd be kissing once more. They shared the same breath, senses alert though eyes lidded as Regina whispered. "What are you waiting for?"

Nothing, Emma determined as she pressed her lips soundly against Regina's, stealing the older woman's breath. One taste of each other, and the fire that had ignited only to simmer patiently exploded in an outpour, making the heat surrounding the room feel like a sauna, and at this rate, Emma was planning on working up a sweat. Regina rolled onto her back, pulling Emma down on top of her so the blonde was nestled in between her legs. As soon as her weight was firm against Regina's, the brunette hissed in pleasure, and Emma knew they were going to have a lot of fun with that piercing. Emma's own bare legs were tangled with the brunette's, and as her body moved against Regina's like an age-old dance they had done a million times even though it was the first time— _first of many,_ Emma hoped—her knee moved upward, finding the heat between Regina's legs and pressing firmly.

" _Jesus_."

"Emma," the blonde responded smugly, nipping at Regina's jaw.

The brunette laughed throatily, stretching her neck back to give Emma more room, but she gasped and squeezed her eyes shut when the blonde's thigh this time came in contact with her core once more. " _Mierda._ "

"Oh my god," Emma groaned, darting southward, drawn to Regina's moving hips seeking more contact before she latched eyes with the woman once more. Certainty. Unbridled confidence. They were actually doing this.

As if sensing the confirmation in the air, Regina reached down with both hands, grabbing fistfuls of Emma's oversized flannel shirt in her hands and tugged. The blonde broke away from her for a second, shucking the shirt over her head, chest bare and army panties still the only thing covering her decency. Regina gasped against her when flesh to flesh touched, and suddenly, it all just became a little too real.

"What is it that we're doing, Emma?" Regina asked as one final round of validation.

Hovering over the brunette, Emma let her fingers trail on the underside of Regina's tanned jaw sending shivers down the brunette's spine. "Well, I love you, and you love me—"

"Thank you, Barney."

The blonde swatted her shoulder as they both tried suppressing their laughter. With that, Emma caught Regina's lips, the alcohol still lingering on their tongues, but the unique taste of the other so intoxicating.

A mixture of pleased smugness and vulnerable nerves swelled in Emma's chest as she settled in between the brunette's bare and parted legs. The blonde broke the kiss, grinning at Regina's whimpers, only to make her descent southward. A turgid nipple slipped into her mouth, and Regina gasped as Emma's tongue flickered over the nipple before her mouth engulfed her breast entirely. This close, Emma could feel the hitch in Regina's breath and she swore she could hear the stutter in her heart. Regina's hand came up to press down on the unattended breast, but Emma wanted to play too. She placed her hand over Regina's, both of them working Regina higher and higher. Emma released the nipple with a final lick and moved to give its sister a departing kiss, mentally promising to return soon, before she continued her journey southward.

With every shimmy downwards, Regina squirmed as more and more of Emma pressed against her heat until she felt the blonde's hands at her thighs, pushing them out and up. The move made Regina moan, and her sex clenched in anticipation. "God, Emma."

"I'm getting there," Emma promised with a chuckle.

"Have you been teased relentlessly by a clit piercing for days?" Regina managed to breathe out, her voice on the side of strained as Emma finally levelled herself with the thin patch of hair guarding Regina's sex.

"With you dressing sinful tonight, believe me when I say yes," she gloated, taking a deep breath and just reveling in the moment. "Wait. Is it safe to do this?"

Regina groaned, though this time in frustration, and Emma couldn't help but grin at the little pout currently on the brunette's face as the brunette covered her eyes with her forearm. She stilled for a moment before sitting up, eyes afire. "Meet me in the washroom."

In an instant, Emma was left on the bed watching Regina dig through their bags and clothing, and the blonde was left staring after her before Regina's words caught up to her brain. The washroom was only a few steps away, but it was far enough that Emma's mind was starting to clear, and that worry began to settle in again. Her reflection stared back at her. Her bare chest was red and rising rapidly, and the room seemed to be only getting hotter and hotter. At a loss of what to do, she washed her hands vigorously and splashed water on her face. Regina had taken the lead all morning, instigating this affair between them, and here Emma was, freaking out in the bathroom because of what? Her best friend whom she loved for the past twenty years was butt naked and turned on beyond belief. Jesus, Regina could say the same about Emma.

"Are you nervous?"

She looked up to see Regina standing behind her holding wrapped dams in a hand, glorious and beautiful, and though her stance was strong, there was trepidation in her eyes.

"Yeah," Emma admitted on a whisper. "I don't want to mess this up."

Boldly, Regina moved forward and stepped passed the blonde to deposit the dams on the counter. She brought Emma's hands up, their joined fingers caressing her tanned skin until Regina settled Emma's arms around her neck and closed the distance between them. Laying on the bed, naked one on top of the other had been intimate, but even in the light of the bathroom where Emma was trapped between the counter and this gorgeous goddess of a woman was soon becoming her most favourite position.

"I don't either," Regina agreed, and Emma shivered when her fingers trailed at her waist before meeting in an embrace at her lower back. "I feel like this was a long time coming though."

All the blonde could do was nod and subconsciously pull Regina in by the back of the neck. Her lips were just too tempting, and finally the war inside her brain was calling a truce, and both sides were sighing, " _Yes._ "

The last thing she heard before their lips connected once more was Regina's dark chuckle, and then they were kissing again. She wasn't sure how they had refrained themselves from doing this all week, but once Emma had a taste of her, she couldn't get enough. Regina was addictive, and she was willing to bet her whole life savings that Regina was the best kiss she'd ever had. Maybe even in the whole world. Then Regina deepened the kiss at the same time her hands splayed flat against her still clothed rump and massaged the flesh there, and Emma wasn't even a little bit embarrassed at the moan she released. The brunette chuckled again, Emma's bottom lip trapped between her teeth.

"You're too much of a tease," the blonde scolded when her lip was released.

Regina's only response was a purred "mmhmm" before Emma swiftly moved her hands to Regina's thighs and lifted the brunette off the floor, her legs wrapping around her waist, and her very obvious arousal pressed hotly against Emma's stomach.

" _Ohh_ ," she breathed into Emma's ear, holding onto her shoulders tightly. "I knew getting you that pull-up bar was a good idea."

It was the blonde's turn to chuckle as she reached blindly behind her and grabbed the dams. "I knew you liked watching me use it."

Regina's agreement was just a throaty purr as she dove straight for Emma's neck, teeth trailing down the tendons of her neck before she latched onto the groove there with her tongue and lips as if a vampiric spirit had taken hold of her. It was a miracle Emma even made it back to the bed, doing little to make the trip graceful, and as soon as she felt the bed at her knees, she toppled them over in a heap.

"Emma!" Regina laughed, bouncing on the mattress. Resting back on her arms, she fixed the blonde with a pouty stare. "That was less than sexy."

"You're sexy enough for the both of us." She grinned when the older woman blushed and wasted little time in kissing it off her face.

Emma once thought that if and when she and Regina would ever give in, their first time would be soft, tentative, and intimate. Oh they were intimate, but every movement was sure and determined. Emma's hands already hand a permanent imprint on Regina's waist, and Regina's grasp on Emma's neck came from countless times they had hugged one another. They weren't exploring. Not really. They just upgraded their ticket to the VIP all-access pass and took advantage of it.

God, they were doing this. Emma's heartbeat was pounding rapidly in her chest, and she was sure Regina would have to perform CPR on her. Then again that wasn't a bad plan. Not yet though, she promised her body. No dying before she was able to have Regina at least once. But with the brunette's comment in mind that she was even more sensitive with her new piercing—Emma's head rushed just thinking about the possibility. With renewed vigour, she moved her trek southward, paying loving attention to Regina's breasts only for a moment before she kissed her way down her stomach and nestled between her parted legs. The piercing glistened with the evidence of Regina's arousal and a waft of the older woman's scent hit her hard as she watched Regina's pussy clench under her watchful eyes.

" _Emma_." So many times had her name left Regina's mouth over the years but the breathy and desperate whimper that escaped her lips now was soon becoming her favourite. Comfortable they may be, but Emma's touch was careful when her hand came up to touch the piercing through Regina's clitoral hood.

The moan Regina tried to bite back as Emma caressed it let itself come out in a long, drawn out call of satisfaction when the blonde gathered some moisture and painted her clit.

"You let someone pierce your vag," she stated in a mixture of jealous outrage and unadulterated awe, but Emma was still touching her there, gathering her juices to make it slick, and every pass over Regina's oversensitive nub just gave Emma more fuel to play with.

"Spontaneity, right?" Regina breathed out, squirming now. Genie had said she'd be extra sensitive even putting on underwear, but to have her clit played with, to have _Emma_ touch her, she was going out of her mind with need.

"When you heal completely, the things I plan to do to you." Emma promised and leaned over to grab the forgotten dam on the bed and tore into the wrapper, placing the thin latex over Regina's piercing.

"Like what?" Regina challenged darkly.

Emma met her gaze with a smirk, using the liquid molten coating Regina's pussy to slick the dam so it was near transparent and rubbing languid circles against her hardened clit. The brunette did little to stifle the moans bubbling in her throat.

"For starters," Emma began stealing some of Regina's slickness on her finger and bringing it up to her lips for a taste. She shut her eyes in a deep moan and heard a breathy whimper from the brunette at the action. "I'm gonna drink you right from the source."

" _Fuck_." Her thighs clenched, and they would have shut had Emma not been using her forearm to keep them spread.

"And I'm gonna taste you," the blonde continued, mouth hovering over her dripping sex, "and you're going to feel my tongue over every inch of your beautiful body."

" _Fuck, Emma._ " Regina's legs quivered in anticipation, and Emma held her thighs down with both hands, making sure to keep the dam thin and stretched out over her before she dove in for the kill. Almost instantly there was a hand to Emma's head, pressing her where she desperately needed, and as soon as Emma wrapped her lips around her clit and piercing, Regina groaned like an animal possessed.

Emma had to use her forearms against Regina's parted thighs to keep tanned legs from bucking up against her mouth. The hardened clit nearly slipped from her mouth, but Emma latched on, a loud " _unnh_ " reverberating around the room that was enough to set Emma's insides on fire.

"God, Regina, you're gonna make me cum from your sounds alone," Emma whispered into her cunt.

"Do you really want to talk about who's close to coming right now?"

The blonde laughed and gave her one final teasing kiss before Emma descended upon the piercing like a moth to the flame. And God was Regina burning hot. She sucked the jewel into her mouth, and had Regina not been settled against the headboard, she would have surely fallen backwards in orgasmic bliss.

Regina gasped, a mixture of wanton lust and deep satisfaction. The piercing increased her arousal tenfold, and with Emma's eager press of her tongue, she was bucking her hips up higher. A harder press of the blonde's tongue was almost _too good_ that she grabbed Emma's head with both her hands and stopped her before she tried to mimic the move.

"Gentle," she persuaded, bringing her head back down to her core.

Emma nodded and moistened her lips before pressing a soft kiss against the piercing. The vibration from her lips heated up the piercing and sent waves of pleasure directly to her clit. Regina was sure if she had the sense to glance down she'd find herself visibly pulsing. Extra sensitive, her ass. Every touch against her skin was like lighting a flame, and as Emma retreated from her piercing and down to the source of her wetness, she whimpered.

"Jesus," the blonde whispered, dipping the tip of her finger inside and then using the moisture to wet her outer lips. "God, you are so turned on."

"Nothing like those rom-coms, huh?"

Emma shook her head and pushed a finger inside. Regina moaned and clenched around the digit even as Emma slid out. She tested the entrance with two fingers then slid both in with little resistance. "This is real."

"Emma," Regina groaned. She sat up on her palms and thread a hand in Emma's hair lovingly, in stark contrast to the grip she held on it previously. The blonde pumped steadily, an in and out motion that had Regina gasping at every upward stroke as Emma sat up enough to concentrate on Regina's facial expressions this time.

"I want to see you," the blonde demanded as she reared up to her knees and stationed herself so she was nearly behind Regina, her leg trapping Regina's so her pussy lay fully exposed. The dam soaked and discarded on the bed, Emma was careful to bypass Regina's sensitive clit and focused solely on re-entering her heated entrance.

"Yes," Regina hissed, burying her face into Emma's jaw as the blonde held her tight. "Go back inside. I need you."

The younger woman chuckled hotly in her ear, and with little preamble and resistance, resided her fingers in Regina's tight hole once again. "Just like that?"

Regina was biting her lip now, and some primal urge took over Emma as she nipped at Regina jaw until the brunette released her own lip, letting Emma take the lead on the action. Every bite coincided with every upward thrust, and soon Regina was slapping at the bed to fist sheets in her hand as the pleasure grew and grew and grew.

She found purchase in Emma's hair once more, nearly yanking at the roots as the sound of Emma's all-too-eager fingers pumped faster and faster inside Regina. "God, Emma, I'm—I'm—gonna—"

"Cum, Regina. Cum for me." She growled the words into the ecstatic woman's ear, and when a loud and long " _ahhhh_ " filled the room, she slowed her pace easing the older woman out of her second orgasm.

The grin couldn't stop itself from forming on Emma's face as her pumping fingers slowly eased and she kissed at the sweat-dampened neck of the woman against her.

"I like your spontaneous side," Emma muttered, biting down on Regina's shoulder.

" _Ay Dios Mio._ " Regina slumped backwards on the bed, limp against Emma as the blonde let her fingers run up and down Regina's front like she was fingering some fine-tuned cello. The blonde grinned at the imagery in her head and certainly felt like she had played Regina like an instrument, the whine of her voice, the deep bass of her groans, the build-up of the final crescendo to a thundering climax. She kissed up her jaw line and mentally counted down to when she could do that again.

Already her fingers were ghosting southward to the dampen curls at her sex, and when Emma felt the jewel brush against her skin, the brunette squirmed in her arms.

" _Wait, stop,_ " She begged bringing Emma's fingers back up and away from her oversensitive area. The blonde was about to pout at the maneuver, but when Regina lazily brought Emma's fingers up and into her mouth, all Emma could do was watch in awe and wonder how this woman before her was just _so_ goddamn sexy. "Hold on."

"Need a minute?" The blonde muttered into Regina's skin. She moved from behind her and let Regina bask on the rumpled sheets. The soft humming vibrating from the sated woman was music to Emma's ears as she adjusted onto her side and continued to pepper kisses up and down her torso.

"Hold on," Regina muttered once more, and before Emma could kiss Regina's navel, two sure hands were grasping her temples and pulling her up.

They were kissing again, and her heart was fluttering like it wanted to come out of her chest, but then she felt the telling sign of lips quirking upward in a smile, and she couldn't help but mimic the brunette grinning against her mouth.

"Good?" Emma whispered, nipping at her bottom lip.

Regina laughed, light and completely satisfied. Her thigh, still shaky, came in contact between Emma's and she cocked an eyebrow to see her leg slick with Emma's desire despite the cotton panties she still wore. Emma's pulse kicked when Regina grinned and moved her hand so she cupped the blonde firmly over the cotton then deftly pushed aside the thin barrier there.

" _Holy fuck._ " Emma shuddered as Regina's fingers searched through her saturated flesh.

"Do _you_ need a minute?" The brunette sassed as she removed her hand from Emma's heat and tugged down at the waistband of her panties. Emma didn't hesitate to help her shuck them off, and when the brunette returned back to her soaking sex, Emma mewled when two fingers toyed with her needy entrance. "I can't believe we haven't been doing that for the last twenty years."

Emma barely had time to agree before Regina easily slipped two digits in, replacing her answer for a heady groan.

"Reg—"

"I know," Regina promised with a kiss that was all tongue and teeth. "Come here."


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer in Chapter One.
> 
> AN: SO SORRY for the stupid long delay. February got ridiculously busy with work and personal life, and then I went on vacation. Someone please take me back to the sun and sand please and thanks.

Emma was always the early bird between the two of them. Nomadic she may be, she found solace in the rising sun and found every new day to be some universal miracle. The only reason Regina was an early riser was from years of waking up early for her morning commute ingrained so heavily in her schedule that even on weekends she'd lay in bed, desperately trying to catch sleep though her body wouldn't allow her. This time, however, Emma wasn't able to catch the morning sun to guide her through a five-mile jog.

She was still left panting, however.

It had come and gone somewhere between Regina nestled between her legs, playing her body like the guitar she spent hours strumming, and her wrapping her arms around the brunette, peppering kisses along her shoulder. After twenty long years of abstaining from one another's touch, it was obvious they'd spend the rest of the day tangled between sweaty sheets and overstimulated limbs. The last thing floating through Emma's mind just before sleep hit her was _oh shit_. And then Regina moved in, pressing up fully against her front and tucking Emma's hands under her chin like a personal teddy bear, and the _oh shit_ turned to _oh yes_ as sleep took over. They'd spooned before, sharing a bed certainly not unfamiliar between them, but after what they had just done, the gravity of the situation didn't hit Emma until she woke to an empty bed.

It wasn't the lack of warmth that woke her, but rather she was pulled from sleep by the soft guitar filtering in from the balcony. She peeked open a sleepy eye and nearly slammed it shut again as the early evening sun blinded her. She staved off the watery pain when she spotted Regina. Back in the muskoka chair and in Emma's oversized flannel shirt, the brunette was highlighted in the light's rays as she played her guitar. This had to be out of a movie, Emma thought as she detected just the faintest whisperings of Regina singing along. No one looked that good after rolling out of bed. Hair mussed, sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and a bare leg trapped under her bottom, Regina played unaware of her audience. She was always that pretty, wasn't she? It wasn't new information, it was just—different? So very different. Her heart lurched in her chest like it wanted to crawl its way up her throat.

Moving quietly, Emma grabbed the comforter and wrapped it around her chest. Different didn't even begin to cover her array of emotions. She wanted to panic, but she couldn't find it in her to freak out. Why should she? They were best friends, and they happened to have slept together. She had a hard time keeping the grin off her face at the thought. Emma had had both male and female lovers, preferring the girlfriends she had in the past since they seemed to know the way around the female body better than any man did, but it had been an entirely different experience with Regina. Rom-com worthy, fireworks in the sky, popped legs during first kisses good.

She knew why.

There was no doubt why her heart clenched that way and why her mind couldn't shake the feeling that something good was going to happen today. Lenny and Sonya would be so proud. Those two drove across country and slept in shady motels and stuck it to horny truck drivers and here they were. Together. Not that these characters were anything like them. Any likeness to people, dead or alive, was purely coincidental of course. But damn did they have a good ending to work with.

She threw on sweats discarded from the day before and found an old tank top. She replaced the comforter and silently made her way to the balcony. The glass was open, but the screen was closed, and through the mesh Emma could hear Regina's soft melodic voice. It was a striking difference to the brunette belting out "Life is a Highway." The sound was soothing to her ears as she pressed her forehead against the jamb of the screen door, the song familiar, and it wasn't until she comprehended the lyrics did she realize what it was.

" _Remember when we were driving, driving in your car. Speed so fast I felt like I was drunk."_

The blonde grinned and slid the screen door open quietly.

" _City lights lay out before us and your arm felt nice wrapped around my shoulder."_ Regina finally sensed her presence, but she didn't stop playing nor did she stop singing as Emma took a seat in the chair opposite. " _And I had a feeling that I belonged. I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone."_

She smiled when Regina did and brought her leg up onto the chair and hugged it. This was it, she thought. She could do this forever, watching Regina play guitar on early Sunday mornings as she wore Emma's clothes. Come to think of it, it wasn't far off from what they did now. Saturday evenings worked just as well. But now they could touch. And oh had they. A shiver ran down her spine at the memory of Regina's nails trailing lightly across her back. Regina must have detected the desire lying so blatantly on Emma's face since she blushed and fumbled with a chord, breaking eye contact to get her bearings.

Excitement flooded through her. Usually Emma wasn't completely invested in whatever relationship she dove head first in, but this wasn't some brash decision making or the fact that they were good in the sack. She already had a relationship with Regina. Now it was just like levelling up.

The final notes of the song continued playing and Regina strummed the chords and sang the final notes, holding Emma's gaze the entire time.

" _And I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone._ "

The air was thick between them. Down below on the Florida streets, cars drove past and people were talking wildly, ready for the Saturday night life to emerge, but on their 12th floor balcony, the chatter became but a muted hum. They should probably talk. Discuss what happened this morning and what they wanted to do and where they wanted to go from there.

Then Regina shifted her guitar and leaned forward, cautiously so, and all Emma could do was silently meet her. When their lips touched once more, neither could suppress the grin from taking life.

"So this is real?" Regina ventured, voice shaky against pale lips.

"Unless you imagined this morning," the blonde teased before she spoke to herself in wonder. "Or maybe I did, because there is no way that you've never had a girlfriend and can do that thing with your fingers."

Regina chuckled throatily, ducking her head so her hair fell forward to cover the blush colouring her cheeks. "I was an old pro before you got me that Lelo, if I do say so myself," she provided innocently with a coy wink. "Here I thought I was a bit rusty."

The blonde groaned and crushed their lips together with ferocity at the image of Regina using that Lelo. Or even the days before it. The Ella toy had partially been a joke when Emma gifted it to her friend for her dirty thirty, but knowing Regina used it—maybe to thoughts of them together?—she was ready to take the brunette back to bed. And maybe hit up that toy shop on the boulevard.

"I remember it in great detail." Regina's sentence came out as a sigh when Emma moved her quest from Regina's lips to the edge of her jaw.

The blonde chuckled, making her way down her neck. "Do you remember when I did this?"

Regina nodded breathily and only had the sense of mind to tug her guitar from her lap and pull Emma closer. "If I recall correctly, this is how it all started this morning too."

"Mmm," the blonde mulled it over, pulling back enough to make a show out of racking her brain. "I'd say it started in the library, 16-years old and someone desperately trying to memorize the periodic table to impress the pretty tutor."

"Maybe if the star of the track team had gotten her act together, we would have won Cutest Couple at prom," Regina quipped with the quirk of a smile.

"I can't believe we got runner-up." Emma tugged Regina in closer to reclaim her lips. "Wait till they see us at the reunion. Hell, the whole town is going to flip out."

She felt Regina still under her grasp, and she knew the brunette had suddenly grown cold.

"The whole town?" Regina inquired, her voice uncharacteristically high.

"There are probably bets in place," the blonde continued with excitement. She had no doubt that her own mother wouldn't be surprised at the change in development. She totally was not telling Neal his biggest crush was her—yeah they really had to talk soon. Pulling back, Emma caught the distant look on previously dazed eyes as Regina bit her lip in contemplation. "Regina?"

"What exactly is it that they're betting on?" The quiet woman asked. "That we're—"

Running her fingers through her tangles, Emma leaned back in her chair, trying to stop the weight in her chest from constricting her throat. She knew Regina. She knew a sudden and powerful change would send her on a downward spiral. Even though everything in her brain told her to choose her words carefully, what came out next might not have been the most thought out response. "What do you want to be?"

"I love you, Emma," Regina answered simply and without a second thought.

"But?"

"No buts," she answered with a shake of her head. "I love being with you."

Cautiously, the blonde nudged her bare ankle with her foot, and when their eyes caught, she grinned shyly. "Do you love being with me enough that you'd—you know, want to do that all the time?"

"Do what?" Regina raised an eyebrow, and the nervous trepidation on her face was instantly replaced with that predatory glean she had had all morning. "Be with you or _be_ with you?"

"Both," she answered swiftly with a wry smile. "Both preferably."

"Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?" Regina grinned, running her toe up and down the inseam of Emma's sweats. She suddenly wished she had opted for shorts as the brunette's foot darted higher and higher until it made its trek back down.

Whatever stubborn neuron in her mind that made Emma resist just to have the last word shot off just then. She should have exclaimed yes, more than anything she wanted to be able to call Regina her girlfriend. Instead she shrugged with a boyish grin and asked, "Aren't we already? What's really going to change?"

The answer was Regina leaning forward, pulling Emma in by the base of the neck and kissing her deeply. Her heart soared with every pass of Regina's tongue until the brunette pulled back and stated firmly. "But you have to tell Neal you stole his valentine.

The blonde groaned and Regina chuckled against her mouth. "Forget it. We don't need to date."

She laughed out loud then, and Emma couldn't even keep a straight face through her joke before she tugged Regina closer and claimed those lips she was now able to kiss whenever she wanted. The thought made her grin. Twenty years in the making, and it all finally led up to this.

* * *

"So I can do this now?" Regina suppressed a giggle when Emma tugged on the lobe of her ear with her teeth. Regina had always been ticklish whenever something rubbed against her ear, and Emma had always made it a point to surprise her by blowing in there, eliciting a shriek and—now that Emma thought about it—a sensual shiver. But now, as she stretched languidly on the couch, trying but failing to suppress the moan from pushing past her throat, Emma realized that she could make Regina squirm just by kissing her there, darting a tongue into her canal, breathing hotly in breathy whispers. Words left her mind once more, and all Regina could do was nod vigorously at the blonde's question.

"And this?" The blonde slipped a hand under Regina's tank top, her nails scraping lightly against her taut stomach.

Regina chuckled and caught Emma's hand with hers, their fingers lacing as they both trailed upwards under her shirt. Emma had been doing this for over an hour now, kissing a new place, touching here, asking if she could do that now that they were dating. Regina chuckled against her touch. _Dating._ Who would have thought? Everyone apparently, though Regina didn't give it more insight once Emma had pecked her cheek and began this little clarification game with nothing but heated touches and insistent kisses.

Burning up, she removed both their hands from under her shirt and took the blonde by surprise, clutching her head between her hands and kissing her firmly. She could feel Emma gasp against her, and that power made her grin. "Let's just say," Regina whispered, her fingers toying with the button on Emma's shorts, "that you can touch me wherever you want."

" _Jesus Christ._ " Almost instantly Emma was playing with the hem of Regina's shorts, and more than anything she wanted a vivid recounting of their activities that morning. Regina hummed in appreciation before a thought fluttered through her mind.

"Wait."

Emma pulled back immediately, concern in her eyes. "Are you okay?"

Regina had to grin at that. No matter the situation her best friend would always look out for her. That was the reason, more than anything, that she sat up and took a moment to compose her thoughts.

"Are you double thinking this?" The blonde asked worriedly.

She shook her head just as another thought took over. "Are you?"

"No," the blonde answered immediately. "I just—I know you, Regina, and I don't want to do anything that's going to push you away."

Her heart swelled at the admission, and though it unnerved her just a little to realize that they both knew it would be Regina the one who would panic at this new prospect, the older woman was grateful that they were at least on the same page. "No, I get that." With a decisive nod, she continued. "And that's why I think we should date."

"What are we doing now?"

"Kissing," she answered pointedly, earning a boyish grin from her newly-established girlfriend. "Most likely leading to more...strenuous activities."

Emma advanced on Regina once more with a naughty smirk, murmuring into her neck just before she latched onto her pulse point. "Strenuous activities."

"Emma," the brunette pleaded though even to her own ears it sounded pathetic. "I want to do this right."

"We can wait for your piercing to heal," she agreed, raking her teeth down Regina's neck. "But we can do other things."

With as much strength as she could muster, Regina pushed back gently against her shoulder and caught her eyes earnestly. "Of course we can, and I promise you we will, but perhaps we can do what regular couples do. Dinner, movie—"

"Netflix Saturday nights and swapping keys to each other's place?" The blonde finished for her. "We've mastered it for years, sugarplum."

"Emma," she chided softly.

"But a real date?" She questioned, feigning contemplation for a moment before nodding enthusiastically. "I'll check out some restaurants and call some places."

"No." Emma paused suddenly, Regina's grip tight on her hand. "I want to take you out."

Pale cheeks reddened as the blonde obviously held back a blush. "You want to take me out."

"Yes, I'd like to take you out on a date tonight," Regina stated before she added with a smirk, "only if you're free."

Emma rolled her eyes and pushed back on Regina's shoulder. "I suppose I can clear my schedule to go on a date with you."

* * *

Two hours didn't give Regina much time to plan a date. Come to think of it, she never really planned one before. She was always wined and dined by the odd person she had said yes to for the evening, though she could count the number of times she'd agree on one hand. More often than not, the evening was cut short and within an hour of retreating home, Emma would show up at her door with a bottle of wine and warm arms, squeezing her until Regina smiled again. In hindsight, that was her favourite part of those dates, having Emma comfort her and promise there was someone out there for her. After her last date, over six years ago with a woman she had met in a coffee shop that ended when she found out the woman was simply looking for a third in a threesome, Regina had pulled herself off the singles mingle scene and never looked back. Tonight, though, she sorely regretted not taking on a more active role in the relationship game because the best plan she could come up with was, generically, dinner and a movie.

The theatre wasn't playing anything to their fancy, so that part was over before it started, but Regina spotted a few restaurants around their strip over the past week that should be suitable for tonight's inclinations. And although she vowed to loosen the reins on her self-control, she really did want to do this right, lest she lose Emma entirely. That left her no choice but to hastily slip on a sundress while Emma was in the shower. It was a white fitted number that tied around her neck in a halter with dark blue flower prints cascading down the side paired with gladiator sandals. She didn't have time to do her makeup before she heard the shower turn off and the curtain pull, signaling her cue to leave immediately.

Her plan after that wasn't as well thought out as she had hoped. As soon as the door closed behind her, she was simply left out in the hallway, smiling at a pair of teens who was exiting the room two doors over with towels slung over their shoulders, clearly on the way to the pool. Luckily she had the sense to grab her purse with her, or this whole ploy to make it seem like a real date would have been for naught. But who knew how long Emma was going to take getting dressed. Regina could be standing out there for another hour twiddling her thumbs.

The lobby would be her best bet to wait because although she knew the hotel staff cleaned regularly, she wasn't about to sit outside her door for an hour. Adventurous she may be now, but there was no way in hell she was wrinkling her dress. She only made it down a quarter of the hallway when her phone in her purse buzzed. Fishing it out, she saw a text from Emma asking where she was.

**Are you standing me up?** The blonde had teased. **I'm your ride home, you know?**

Regina rolled her eyes at the text and promptly sent a reply, letting her know to text her as soon as she was done. In a second, the blonde had promised she'd be done in fifteen minutes, so Regina waited, leaning against the wall of the empty hallway and opened up her phone. For the first time in over two weeks she checked her emails, surprised to see the amount of work messages getting pushed to her device. Despite being on sabbatical, she was still scheduled to return eventually, and dozens of emails flooded her system as she was copied into them to keep her in the loop. The more recent one had been from Spencer himself, including her in the thread to expect external auditors who would be coming by in the coming weeks and going over their legal policies. The email was surprising since the most Spencer had ever done for the yearly investigation was shake their hands upon their arrival and departure while Regina was set to field any and all questions and order lunch like she was their assistant. Judging by his jargon, he all but repurposed her past communications with them and claimed her words as his own. She had half a mind to respond to the email, just to show what an insipid fool he was being, but then she saw Emma's name pop up on her banner, and the need to head into work mode was hindered by the blonde announcing that she was ready.

Almost immediately her irritation was replaced with trepidation and excitement. Replacing her phone into her purse, Regina turned and gave the skirt of her dress a firm palm over, straightening the already ironed ruffles. The need to count to ten in her head to calm her nerves began, and as soon as she got to seven, she had to remind herself that this was just Emma. They hung out all the time. They hadn't had a date before, true, but they could do this. She knocked on the door.

The faint rumblings of Emma rushing to the door could be heard through the wood, so Regina did a quick sweep of her hair, tugging at the loose side braid dangling over her left shoulder to make sure none of her nonsense baby hairs were flying haphazardly in the wind. Then the door opened, and Emma had cocked an amused eyebrow though the grin on her face was quite infectious.

Regina had never been on this end of the date, the one knocking on the door with sweaty palms and a beating heart. She knew it was just Emma. But that was the thing, wasn't it? It was Emma, so it wasn't just some flirtatious encounter she had met at the bar or a stranger whose cart she'd collided into at the grocery. Emma Swan, best friend of nearly twenty years and who was singularly the only person to know any and everything about Regina, was beaming at her like she just won the lottery. A flush rushed to her cheeks, and though her brain told her mouth to start moving, all she could do was take in the sight of the blonde. Gone were the leather pants and cut-off jeans. Instead, the blonde was at ease in a maxi dress, coincidentally the one Regina had bought for her when they were in South Carolina. The sparkling champagne colour highlighted the yellow of her hair as it was pulled back with a claw. For the first time, Regina understood why dates brought flowers and chocolates. How else would they get the conversation started when she was at a loss for words.

"Wow," was all Regina could mutter as she soaked Emma in.

Not typically shy, the blonde shifted from foot to foot and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Come off it, you're gorgeous."

"I don't have flowers," Regina suddenly blurted. The blonde's eyebrows shot up in amusement. "Or chocolates. Or anything."

"That's okay," Emma soothed, stepping out into the hallway with her purse and shutting the door behind her. "You brought the most important thing."

She was confused for half a second before the blonde kissed her cheek and weaved her arm through the crook of Regina's. "Ready to go?"

* * *

Regina's cheeks flushed red as the hostess frowned at her computer screen and looked up apologetically. "I'm sorry. We're full for the evening. I estimate about a fifty minute wait for a table to clear."

She resisted the urge to growl when Emma spoke on their behalf, thanking her for checking and steering her back toward the crowded entrance where couples were waiting on their reservations or hopeful for cancellations. That had been the third decent restaurant to turn them down for the evening. The first had been a small French bistro where Regina hadn't necessarily been surprised that the location had reached its capacity so quickly. The second was the sushi restaurant from earlier on in the week. Apparently a party had rented out nearly half the restaurant and seats were at a premium. But the third—nothing grander than an Olive Garden—was brimming with patronage. As soon as they exited, Regina could see that they were offering half-price entrees. No wonder word had gotten out of its popularity.

It wasn't the food she was upset at missing out on. Quite honestly, she was fairly certain she could whip up a better meal had she the means to her home kitchen. No, it was the fact that this was the first date she'd be having with Emma, and it was going abysmal.

"So where to?" asked Emma, still as chipper as when they left the hotel over forty minutes ago.

Regina could give up, but the determination to make this into a worthwhile first date was too strong. _Spontaneity, Regina_ , she desperately reminded herself. Let loose. Her resolve set, she simply shook her head and grasped Emma's hands tugging her down the street and away from the occupied restaurants. She didn't speak, only let her hand guide Emma as she pulled the blonde back towards their hotel. Instead of heading to the front entrance, they detoured around the back to the parking lot, and it took Regina only a moment to dig into Emma's purse and easily find the keys to the bug.

"Where are we going?" Emma questioned again, concern lacing her voice. To the untrained eye, Regina must have looked like a madwoman weaving through the sparse crowds and sights set on the aged Volkswagen, but to Emma, she was a woman on a mission. That didn't mean the blonde didn't have her concerns. Regina determined was just as frightening as a bull on a rampage. She did get her clit pierced on a single-sighted whim after all.

"I don't know." Regina was giddy now, the grin infectious on her face as she slightly pushed Emma toward the passenger door and opened the driver's side for herself. She caught confused eyes over the top of the car and blew the blonde a kiss. "Care to find out?"

She slid into the bug and started the engine, not having to wait long for Emma to get in beside her with a challenging smirk. "You know, it's not polite to kill people on first dates."

"I'll save that for the third, then. They call it _la petit mort_ for a reason." Emma blushed, and then they were off, pulling out of the hotel's parking lot and making their way to the freeway. Regina, out of all people, had encouraged Emma to put her phone into the auxiliary cable and choose Cochrane's song to start off the drive, and that itself seemed to alert Emma to peculiarities.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked with trepidation, taking the time to glance out the window and study the exit signs. "I really was joking about the whole killing people thing. I don't want to be your accomplice now."

"We're on a date," Regina stated factually.

"Yeah."

"So we'll do something date-like."

"Like?"

She didn't answer her then. All she did was turn up the volume and belt out how she was going to ride it all night long, ignoring Emma's questions and concerns until the blonde rolled her eyes and sang along at its second rotation. She honestly had no idea where they were going, and as the sun finally set and Regina veered off the highway and chose an exit at random, she strongly reconsidered her momentary lapse in judgement.

The place she had exited seemed to be a commercial area where every building along the street was more factory or giant warehouse outlet than the homes and settled establishments they were used to over the past week. Aside from a gas station, there was no sign of civilization, but the sun had long since made its descent, and now seemed like a good a time as any to swerve into the parking lot of what looked to be a telecom company and park diagonally across three parking sports.

"I guess now isn't a good time to make another killing joke?" Emma squeaked taking a look around. "Is this trespassing?"

"Yes," Regina said with glee before she turned off the ignition and slid out of the car. It took much maneuvering to seat herself properly onto the hood of the car, but the real feat was when she crawled up the windshield, gracelessly so, and settled herself firmly on top of the roof of the bug. As soon as she was comfrotable, the warm metal pressing against the back of her bare thighs and arms, Emma's passenger car door slammed shut and the blonde was standing beside the front bumper, staring up at Regina incredulously.

"Are you sure going to jail isn't your number one right now?"

"Maybe I already did it," Regina pointed out cheekily, grinning at the way Emma bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smirking.

Within a moment, she heard the grumbled response from the blonde still on the ground before the clang of flesh against metal sounded in the night and Emma lay beside her, huffing slightly out of breath. "If I knew we'd be getting into trouble I would have worn pants."

Regina turned her head, face to face with the blonde before she reached forward and kissed her nose. "You look beautiful."

The blush came easily to pale cheeks. "Are you sure you've never organized a first date before? You're really good at it."

"I'll let you take care of the third one, or did you still want to wait for my piercing to heal?"

Emma groaned beside her, and Regina had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. When they settled, she felt Emma's head against her shoulder and both women sighed with content against the dark sky. Regina could barely see any stars; the smoke from the surrounding warehouses made that a difficult feat no doubt, but she couldn't help but feel the sense of serenity wash through her.

"What's your number one?" Emma whispered up into the sky.

"I don't know," Regina answered honestly. "I thought I would know it as soon as it happened, but I've had this high since we left Storybrooke. Like I can beat the world. It's freeing."

"You just needed a vacation."

"This was more than a vacation," Regina admitted, shifting so that she could face Emma. "This was...eye-opening."

"Mind-blowing," the blonde whispered coyly, and this time Emma was the one to grin and kiss Regina's nose. Her heart swelled. Suddenly she understood why Emma was so amazed that she could kiss her anywhere.

"Do we have to go back?" Regina asked, looking back up at the cloudy sky.

"No. Let's stay."

Frowning, Regina groaned to herself and covered her eyes with a forearm. "I really wish I could. I happened to see an email from Spencer and the external auditors will be arriving at the end of this week, so it's good timing that we'll be going home soon."

"Nope." Emma shook her head and removed Regina's arm. "No work talk. Besides, you hate it there. You should quit."

"I can't just quit."

"Why not?"

"Because!" She squeaked exasperated. "I have bills to pay, and my mortgage, and responsibilities. I can't just quit."

"You can if you have fuck-you money saved," the blonde said pointing a finger as if it were a well-known fact.

Regina squinted. "And what is fuck-you money? Or did you create your own currency?"

"It's money that you put aside so that when The Man asks you to work overtime or you've just had enough of a dead end job, you just say fuck you and quit."

"Do you mean a savings account?" She questioned unimpressed.

"There's a savings account and then there's fuck-you money," Emma stated. "Fuck-you money is just so that you can get by for at least a year. Pay all your bills, buy enough groceries so you don't starve, and maybe a little extra for a haircut or a movie."

"Fuck-you money." Regina moved the term around her brain trying to find fault in it, but coming from Emma who had been working dead end jobs for years, it made sense. "I assume that's how you were able to simply quit your job and come with me on this journey."

Emma shrugged. "Not quite."

"Emma!" Regina smacked at her shoulder disapprovingly. "You didn't have to quit your job."

"There was no way in hell I'd let you travel cross-country alone," she reasoned easily. "Besides, if I get desperate, I can always bartend again."

Regina tsked and tried her damdest to be upset. Quite honestly, she wasn't sure if she would have done the same for Emma. Just saying fuck you to Spencer? She had dreamt as much, and the most she had ever talked back to him was when she called him a sexist pig all those weeks ago. She shook her head lightly, grinning at the much too proud smile on Emma's face, and all she could do was kiss it off. "Thank you for using your fuck-you money."

"Want to dip into yours?" Emma teased against her lips. "We can travel the world together. Visit all fifty states. Head back to the Caymans."

Regina barked out a laughter. "I thought there was only a little extra money for a movie and a haircut."

"You're right," Emma decided. "But we could be getting by together."

"Now I like that sound of that." Clasping their hands together, Regina brought them skyward and pointed up toward the foggy sky. "Think that one looks like a bunny?"

Emma laughed out loud and sat up on her elbow. "Are you cloud gazing with me? How romantic."

"Shut up." Regina swatted her stomach and looked back up to the sky. "It isn't working, is it, with all this pollution?"

Dropping back to her back, Emma gave in and pressed her head right beside Regina's. The brunette was having a difficult time concentrating when Emma's fingers played at the exposed part of Regina's thigh. "That patch of smoke there, it looks like a two-headed dragon. You know the one that has those flaps by its ears and makes it look really scary."

"You can see that in the smoke?" Regina questioned, shifting her head trying to decipher what Emma was seeing.

The blonde pointed up to the right, motioning to a billowing cloud filtering in from an industrial chimney. "It's right there, see? Hurry it's moving."

Regina was nearly on top of Emma at this point, training her eyes to see some thought up dragons. If she tilted her head like this— "Oh! Right there!"

Emma laughed, tucking a hand around Regina's waist. The woman didn't hesitate in sidling up closer. "Yeah it's there."

The brunette pointed up again. "If you squint it looks like the right dragon is becoming an erupting volcano."

"That's morbid," Emma teased. "What did the right little guy do to the volcano?"

"He clearly sacrificed himself so the left little guy could scurry away."

"Maybe you're the one with the rom-com obsession."

"I'm not the one who saw Fool's Gold in theatres and liked it."

"Hey!" Emma sat up enough to glare at her counterpart. "You watched it with me."

"And you owe me two hours of my life back," she retorted pointedly.

Cocking a challenging brow, Emma swooped in, barely giving Regina a chance to gasp before reattaching their lips and kissing away whatever other comeback she had. Less than twenty-four hours after succumbing to their feelings, they kissed with a practiced passion that wasn't going to get old anytime soon. Regina was never the type of girl to be caught making out in the backseat of a car, but apparently she would make out on top of one. Something inside her told her they should probably stop, the roof wasn't big enough to keep them from rolling off, and with Emma pinning Regina down under her, that was a huge possibility.

But Regina just didn't care.

She grinned into the kiss, pulling Emma down on top of her as she thread her fingers through her hair, mussing up the claw that held it together. The blonde's thigh pressed against her heat, and _oh god_ , how were they supposed to wait for her piercing to heal?

"Hey you!"

They sprang apart with a surprised gasp and looked up to the sound of the noise. By the back entrance of the warehouse, a flashlight beamed from the opened door. Emma barely had time to mutter "oh shit" before both women scrambled away from each other. Emma was off the hood first, muttering about never wearing a dress again when her bare thighs caught against the metal and her dress bunched near her waist, but she held up her hands for Regina, and she came down willingly. The beam of light was running towards them now, and Emma opened the back seat and gracelessly shoved Regina into the pit. Rushing now, the blonde leapt into the passenger seat and struggled to make her way over the gear shift.

"Go! Go! Go!" Regina urged from the back, smacking her hand against the seat in earnest.

"I'm hurrying," the blonde grunted. She fumbled with the key and managed to turn it on the second try. Regina thanked her lucky stars that Lucy decided not to give them problems.

Looking out the backseat, she could see the guard within twenty feet of them, but then Emma floored it, smoke and screeching tires the only thing left of their presence. As soon as they were out of the parking lot and onto the highway, Regina fell back against the seats, her heart hammering wildly in her chest.

Then she laughed.

Her laugh reverberated in the quiet of the car as she stared up at the ceiling and laughed. Talk about spontaneity and irresponsibility.

"Are you finally broken back there?" Emma asked still breathless.

Regina sat up and leaned against the back of the driver's chair, her face close to Emma's and a giddy glazed look in her eyes. "That was a close one."

The blonde frowned. "You know when Dr. Hopper said to go out of your comfort zone, I don't think he meant getting yourself the next orange jumpsuit to Litchfield."

"That's ridiculous," Regina scoffed. "Litchfield is in New York. We'd go to a Florida pen."

Emma rolled her eyes before she smirked to herself. "That was a hell of a first date."

"Was it bad?" She asked worriedly.

The blonde smirked and remained quiet for a moment, then she turned her head to peck Regina briefly on the cheeks. "That's the best date I've had."

Regina grinned and patted Emma's shoulder before maneuvering her way from the back to the passenger seat with as little grace as Emma. "If we go back to our room, we can still continue it." The implication in Regina's voice left nothing to be ignored.

Despite keeping her gaze on the road, Emma's cheek flared up and she subtly pushed on the gas pedal just a little heavier.

* * *

They were kissing before they even had the hotel room door shut. Apparently lifelong friendship mixed with possible felony was the perfect form of foreplay. Flats and sandals were toed off in their haste, and like the night before, this morning really, Emma wrapped her arms around Regina's waist and thighs and pulled her up. As sexy as the move was the first time, Emma in a maxi dress getting her senses kissed out of her wasn't the greatest idea. The blonde tripped on her dress when she walked, and Regina yelped, tugging on Emma's hair to keep herself from falling, but that only made the blonde panic more and stumble entirely.

They fell hard in a heap against the carpeted floor.

A mixture of laughter and groans broke out between the two women, and despite the heat bubbling between them mere seconds ago, their chests filled with a content mirth as they lay tangled on the carpet. Emma dropped her forehead onto Regina's shoulder. "You're a mess."

"Me?" She said aghast. "You're the one who can't walk in a dress."

"Forgive me if I was a little distracted." She propped her head up and brought a hand to Regina's face to trace the outline of her jaw. "Are you okay?"

"I think I bruised myself here," the brunette mentioned coyly, pointing to the tip of her jaw. Grinning, Emma traced the spot with her thumb before placing a delicate kiss there. She looked up expectantly, and Regina slithered her hand down to her collar bone. "And here."

Emma took her time tracing the bone there, dipping her tongue into the crevice of the dip and nibbling lightly before propping her chin on Regina's chest. "Anywhere else?"

"My back ached when you dropped me." The blonde rolled her eyes but made her way down Regina's body, shucking the dress past her hips and inhaling deeply Regina's unique scent. If Emma hadn't been nestled between her legs, Regina would have clenched them shut, her body tingling with anticipation and much needed friction. Her eyes drifted shut when she felt Emma's tongue dip into her belly button and then her teeth nip right at the edge of her panty line. Emma's fingers played at the edge of Regina's underwear, and the brunette's legs fell open in relief.

Until Emma flipped her onto front and began to kiss and lick at her lower back.

"Emma!" Regina groaned, face first in carpet.

She picked up her head off the floor and tried to glare at the blonde behind her, but Emma bit down on her ass hard enough she felt a pleasurable pain shoot straight down to her core, and in one fluid motion, Emma was fully pressed against her backside and whispering hotly in her ear. "Does your back still ache?"

"It's not the only thing aching."

Emma grinned and swooped in to steal a kiss from Regina, the angle awkward at first but Regina's hazy mind didn't care enough to turn just yet. And then, before they could take it any further, the familiar Super Mario ringtone blared from somewhere in Emma's belongings, and the blonde groaned, dropping her forehead to Regina's shoulder. "Tell my brother to stuff a sock in it."

For a moment, Regina wanted to agree, but as the ringtone played on she pushed herself from the ground shimmied away from Emma's grip, leaving the pouting blonde on the floor with a humming tension running underneath her skin. With a laugh, Regina rummaged through Emma's purse and found her ringing phone. She was already accepting the video call by the time she plopped down on the couch, holding the phone up between them when Emma joined her.

Neal's voice crackled through with an excited, "Hi Regina!"

"Hey, you called _my_ phone," Emma announced, feigning offense.

All the kid did was make a face and very obviously placed his attention back on Regina. "When are you guys coming home? Are you done your adult trip yet?"

"It got pretty adult," the blonde boasted, suppressing a chuckle, only for it to be replaced by a yelp as the brunette pinched her thigh with a glare.

" _He's eight_ ," Regina hissed.

The boy was oblivious to their bickering as he dropped his cheek into his palm and furrowed his face into a pout. "I'm bo-ored. Mom's making me wash the dishes now. Did you get me gifts?"

"From what? We're in Tallahassee."

"Disney!" He exclaimed.

"I told you we should have gone there," the blonde pouted, sporting a similar frown to her brother.

Regina simply laughed and moved in an inch to kiss the expression off her face when she paused and held her breath, realizing Neal was still very much on the phone. She swallowed thickly.

"Neal, you're supposed to be brushing your teeth for bed." The Swans' mother reprimanded, and before long the boy was pouting beyond the camera until Mary Margaret came into view, shooing Neal away until the boy's back was heading towards the bathroom. She took his place in front of the iPad and smiled warmly to the two women, wrinkles around her eyes and mouth crinkling in her grin. "But when will you two be home? You've been gone for nearly two weeks. I was starting to think you two disappeared off to the Caymans together."

"That's a future plan."

"But we should be home in a few days," Regina added.

"Good. Let me know when and I'll have a dinner ready for you," the older woman offered.

"Yeah, and Mom?" Emma inquired cautiously before she caught Regina's eye. Without words, the brunette already knew what Emma was going to tell her, and despite Mary Margaret being a second mother to her, her heart raced and wanted to tell Emma no. They literally just got together, moments away from being together again. They needed time to know where they stood and what they wanted to do going forward. Where would Emma live? She had to get a job again. But then the blonde in question softly grasped her fidgeting head and smiled sheepishly. "Regina and I—we're, uh, kind of together now."

Regina held her breath and watched as Mary Margaret remained unmoving on the screen. For a second she thought it had frozen or it was just a bad connection, but then the older woman blinked. "I'm confused. Does that mean she won't be joining us for dinner? I raised you better than that."

"No, she'll be there." Emma looked to her for validation, and Regina nodded in agreement. "We'll both be there."

"Oh good," Mary Margaret grinned with a clap. "I'll make your favourites. So when is the wedding?"

"Wedding?" Regina squeaked.

"Mom, we're not getting married yet."

"It's been twenty years, Emma. When are you going to give me grandchildren?"

"You still have Neal."

"You're pushing forty, Em."

"In five years!"

"And you know that it's more dangerous for women to give birth later on in life," Mary Margaret pointed out. "So who would have the babies? You or Regina?"

Regina froze once more and ducked her head down just as Emma squeezed her shoulder comfortingly.

"Mom, seriously," Emma warned.

"But I've been waiting for this day for years!" The older Swan exclaimed. That made both women look up, a mixture of shock and embarrassment. "Your father and I used to wonder when you both would come out and say it. He thought it was going to be at your high school graduation, but if he was here to see the day, then he would have agreed it was when you two took care of Neal when I came down with strep four years back."

Emma groaned, embarrassed of the two. "You and dad talked about us?"

Mary Margaret dismissed her with a wave of her hand. "Now I don't know if you and Regina are planning to move into her home. I'm sure half your stuff is already in it, but I saw the perfect three-bedroom bungalow down on Finch that would be perfect for you and a family."

"Mom." Emma dropped her head in her hands.

Regina cleared her throat and positioned herself more centrally into the screen. "Excuse me, I'm just going to the washroom quickly. Give Neal my love."

Mary Margaret bid her goodbye, and Regina carefully avoided Emma's concerned gaze as she stood from the couch and walked the short distance to the ensuite sinks. Her heart beat loudly in her ears as she held the edges of the counter in front of the mirror. Emma had joked that the town had probably placed bets on them getting together, but speaking to Mary Margaret put things into perspective. How long had they done this dance of too much flirting and not enough guts? Here Mary Margaret was, preemptively accepting her role as future mother-in-law, and just like that this whole trip just became a little too real. The fears and insecurities that had held her back for the last week and a half bombarded her once more like a tidal wave, but instead of wondering what it would be like to feel Emma's lips against her own or to touch her in more than a friendly way, images of her best friend in a wedding dress came to the forefront of her mind.

And then her heart raced for an entirely different reason.

Emma would look absolutely gorgeous in a wedding dress. Mary Margaret would assume she'd wear a suit, but Regina knew that Emma would prefer the traditional dress. Something simple and not constricting, champagne-coloured because the blonde wouldn't want her skin to clash with the dress. A little brunette boy in an already tousled tux and too chubby cheeks came running after Emma, and even though his mouth was stained with white frosting Emma caught him in a hug regardless. Maybe Mary Margaret wasn't the only one who had been waiting for this day for years. They were halfway there.

"Hey."

Regina jumped when Emma peaked her head into the powder room, sheepishly dawdling further into the room. Through the mirror she watched as Emma shuffled from side to side with hesitation. Her hands played at her waist, searching for the pockets in the dress that weren't there, and when she realized as much, she ran a hand through her hair, tugging the claw loose. Regina's heart swelled then. Emma was nervous, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to know why, so she offered her own soft smile, catching green eyes in the mirror. "Hey."

Emma took another step in. "Are you okay?"

Regina nodded and motioned slowly for Emma to come closer. The blonde obeyed until they were only a foot apart. Reaching out, Regina caught Emma's fumbling hands and held them between them. "I'm fine."

The contact alone seemed to set Emma's mind at ease as she visibly relaxed, her shoulders sagging in relief. "I was worried that you were worried about what my mom said."

"I was," she admitted. Emma's face fell. "You're moving from my best friend to my girlfriend, and I'm hesitant. I refuse to lose you."

"You won't."

"I thought this might all be a bubble," Regina said, taking her hands back to motion around the hotel they had called home for the past week. "What if when we step out of your bug as soon as we get to Storybrooke then you realize I'm not the Regina from this trip?"

Emma shrugged one shoulder and squinted an eye hopefully. "Well that works out because the Regina I fell in love with is the Regina I met back in Storybrooke High who only knew one style of hair, and French braids were not always in."

Regina snorted despite herself and swatted the blonde's shoulder, infinitely lighter now. "Don't be cute."

"Now that's hard to do."

Regina shook her head with an eye roll.

"I am sorry about my mom though," Emma continued. "She doesn't know about you and how you can't have kids."

"It's okay," Regina said, believing it this time. "Besides, I thought we were going to adopt or foster."

Emma's ears turned red and did little to fight the upward curl of her lips. "We can definitely adopt or foster. But I know it's something we have to plan for and I don't want you to think that it's something we have to do right away just because someone expects it of us. I mean, we don't even have to get married."

"You don't want to marry me?" Regina asked with a raised eyebrow.

This time Emma's cheeks turned as red as her ears, and she continued to sway in her spot. Regina knew that was a telling sign that the blonde was flustered, a rare feat really, so the brunette revelled in it with a wicked grin.

"You know I do," Emma finally whispered though her gaze was on the floor. She looked up, nervousness and fear in her eyes. "Just, _please_ don't freak out because I'm not part of your plan or that we don't have one or—"

Regina had enough time to roll her eyes before she pulled Emma in by the waist and shut up her babbling with a fierce kiss. Two minutes ago, she would have understood Emma's trepidations for Regina's fears. Hell, her mind had been on a whirlwind adventure weighing the pros and cons of their actions. But right now, nothing felt more right that having Emma's body pressed against hers, their lips moving languidly like they'd done this for years.

"I'm not freaking out," Regina promised when she broke the kiss, her breath mingling with Emma's. Green eyes were hidden behind partially closed lids as Emma nodded her understanding and belief. Slowly Regina's lips trailed from Emma's mouth to her jaw, little baby kisses so reminiscent of when Emma herself pecked everywhere on Regina's face just because she was upset. She finally reached the shell of Emma's ear, nipping the lobe so briefly it could have been an accident before she whispered, "I know what my number one is."

"Yeah?" Emma shivered.

Regina grinned and slowly pushed them toward the bedroom. "More like who."


End file.
